The mysterious visitor
by Maaike-OUAT
Summary: One month after Snow and Emma returned from the enchanted forest, Emma is struggling with her identity. In the meantime, a mysterious visitor is entering Storybrooke...
1. Something Wicca This Way Comes

**Hi guys. This is my first Once Upon a Time story written. As the winter hiatus is taking way too long, I felt the need to write down my ideas of how the story can continue. Hope you'll like it. **

**As you might have noticed, all the chapters are named after episodes of 'Charmed', my other favorite show :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Something Wicca This Way Comes**

It has been a month since Emma and Snow returned from the enchanted forest.

In the meantime, a lot has happened: Snow has moved out of the little apartment and moved into a larger house together with Charming; Emma has picked up her sheriff's duties; and Henry has moved in with Emma permanently. Regina sure wasn't happy about this decision. But as Henry has made his choice to live with Emma very clear to her, she couldn't do much about it.

* * *

So much for picking up her normal life. With all the action and impressions to process from her adventure with Snow, or Mary Margaret, 'or do I have to call her 'mom' now?'' Emma isn't sure how to behave around her family. So that is why she has decided to avoid contact with them as much as possible.

But this is hard when you have an eleven-year old asking questions like: ''when're we going to visit gramps and grams again?'' and ''when will my next sword lesson be with gramps?''

''Man, I must suffer from a major identity crisis or something,'' Emma says out loud in the mirror.

Her work at the sheriff's station doesn't make matters easier as David is still around helping out where he can.

Emma tries to establish the facts for herself. ''So last year my son found me after ten years, I discovered my parents are fairytale characters and not just fairytale characters, no, due to a freaking curse they haven't aged in 28 years. I have also defeated a dragon and faced soulsuckers. And this year, I got swallowed into some kind of magical hat, which sent me off to an enchanted forest, came face to face with an oger, climbed a bean stake with Captain Hook and almost got my heart ripped out by the Queen of Hearts… Who would stay sane after experiencing these kind of ridiculous situations?''

* * *

At dinner in Snow and Charming's residence, it is quiet. Too quiet, according to Charming. ''Snow, is something wrong?'' he asks.

''Well it's just, I haven't seen or heard from Emma in a while and I am worrying about her. She only visited us once, when we just moved in here and she hasn't come to see us since.''

''Well she must be very busy getting her life back together here in Storybrooke like we are,'' Charming answers.

''But seriously now Charming,'' says Snow, ''you see her more often than I do, at the sheriff's station. Did she say or implied that we did something wrong? Or did I say something wrong?''

''I'm sure it's nothing to worry about,'' says Charming, trying to ease his wife.

''Well, still, I think it´s a good idea to pay her a visit in the morning, to see if everything's alright,'' Snow says.

''Than I'll join you,'' says Charming and he kisses Snow gently on the cheek.

* * *

The next morning, Charming and Snow head to Emma's apartment.

Emma has the morning off and has planned some quality time with Henry. ''Henry, what do you want to do today?'' she asks.

''Sword fighting with gramps, or going to the stables and learn how to ride a horse with grams,'' he replies.

''But Henry, this is the only morning I have time to do something fun with you this week, why do you want to see your grandparents?''

''Because we haven't seen them in ages and I don't get why we can't spend time with them?!''

It's like Emma explodes. All the frustrations, doubts and anxiety that have been piling up inside her over the last month seem to find their way out. ''That is because I'm afraid Henry, afraid of what will happen to you if you are together with them, if we are together with your mother, or together with any other fairytale character! Henry's eyes turn big. ''Do you think all these stories I told you about what we experienced in the enchanted forest were fun? It was horrible Henry, truly horrible and I don't want you to experience something like it.''

It pops out before she knows it and immediately Emma feels sorry she said it. She turns around and sees her parents standing in the doorway.

''Emma, is that really how you feel about us?'' Snow asks.

''I'm so sorry,'' says Emma and she runs out of the apartment.

''Emma wait!'' Snow calls out and she wants to follow her.

''Let her be Snow,'' Charming says while he touches her shoulder. ''I think this is something she has to figure out for herself.'' Than he turns to Henry and says: ''she will be back buddy, and everything's going to be all right.''

* * *

In the meantime, an unexpected visitor has entered Storybrooke. Driving a rental car, the mysterious man holds up a map and is figuring out directions. He stops the car and doesn't notice that someone is approaching him. Then, he hears a knock on the car door. A little startled he looks up and opens the window. He stares into a friendly face.

''Can I help you sir?'' the woman standing next to his car asks him.

''Well, I'm actually looking for Granny's Bed & Breakfast, do you know where that is?''

''Of course'', the lady replies, ''just follow the road until the first intersection, turn right and you will find Granny's after two blocks on your left. Good luck.''

''Thanks for your help,'' says the man and he drives away.

Regina watches him go.

* * *

The bell of Mr Gold's pawn shop makes a jingling sound.''Gold!'' Regina calls.

''Regina, how can I help you today?'' says Mr Gold with a bit of annoyance clearly reflected in his voice.

''An unknown man just entered Storybrooke. Please tell me there is a perfectly simple explanation for that.'' Regina says.

''No there is not,'' Gold simply says. He leaves out what his initial thoughts are, that this mysterious man might be his son, Baelfire. ''No-one can enter Storybrooke, unless…''

''Unless it is another fairytale character that came in from the enchanted forest,'' Regina finishes his sentence.

''Exactly,'' says Gold.

* * *

Angry with herself, Emma is driving in large circles around town.

''Why am I such an idiot and yell these things in front of Henry?'' she thinks in herself. ''I never meant to hurt him and now he believes that I think that his grandparents and the rest of the villagers are some kind of freaks.

What to do next? I can't go back home and face the whole family together. I have no idea what to say to them. I can't be with any of the other fairytale characters either, because they will definitely going to ask questions I don't feel like answering.''

As she is turning into the main street, she sees a rental car parked outside Granny's. She is wondering who this mysterious visitor can be, but she decides to stay in the car to avoid any questions from Red or Granny. She passes slowly, wanting to catch a glimpse, but is unable to look inside.

* * *

Meanwhile in the diner, the new visitor walks towards the counter and asks Ruby for a room in the bed & breakfast.

''Well, yes we do have a room available…'' Ruby says hesitantly. ''How long do you wish to stay?''

''I'm not sure yet,'' the man replies, ''but can I make a reservation for two nights for now?''

''Yes of course, let me write down your name and address in the register book.''

* * *

A few minutes later, Regina enters Granny's and walks towards the table where the mysterious visitor is having a burger.

''Would you mind if I join you?'' She asks him.

''No of course not,'' the man replies. ''Wait, you're the woman who gave me directions earlier!''

''I think we haven't been properly introduced,'' says Regina. ''My name is Regina Mills, and as the mayor of Storybrooke, I would like to welcome you to our town.''

''Well, it's a real pleasure meeting you Regina, my name is Neal Cassady. I believe I've never had such a warm welcome before. Actually, since you are the mayor of this town, you are might able to help me with something else. I'm actually looking for a woman named Emma Swan, do you know her?''

''Miss Swan? Yes I happen to do know her,'' Regina replies, getting more and more interested in this man's motives for visiting. ''She lives just up the street together with her…'' she holds for a bit, ''son.''

''Son?!'' Neal asks surprised. ''I didn't know she had a son? How old is he?''

''He is eleven,'' says Regina.

Neal coughs and almost chokes on his coke. ''Excuse me, how old did you say he is?''

''He is eleven. Why is his age so important to you?'' Regina asks.

''Nothing really, sorry I, I have to go,'' Neal says quickly and leaves some money on the table. He runs out of the diner.

* * *

'Oh Rumple, I love the color,'' Belle says as she is trying on the dress she just got from Rumplestiltskin. ''It's so bright.'' She makes a twirl and Rumplestiltskin looks approvingly.

''You look beautiful in that dress Belle,'' he says and he gives her a quick kiss. Both of them walk into the shop as Regina enters.

''His name is Neal Cassady,'' she says, as she almost runs Belle down.

''Who?'' Gold asks with his calm voice.

''That man, who came into town this morning.'' His name is Neal Cassady and he was asking about Miss Swan. When I mentioned Henry, he almost choked on his coke and ran out the door. Have you ever heard of him?''

''No I certainly haven't,'' answers Gold.

''What could he possibly want from Miss Swan and more importantly, why is he so interested in Henry?'' Regina asks, almost hysterically.

''Can it maybe be Henry's father?'' Belle offers.

It is like she has dropped a bomb. Regina was focusing so hard on the fact that there was someone new entering town, asking for her son, that she didn't think of the possibility that this man might could be her son's biological father.

* * *

There is a knock on the door. Charming gets up, opens the door and sees an unknown man in the doorway.

He and Snow have managed to calm down Henry and the boy and Snow are now making an artwork for the yearly art exhibition at school. The theme of this year is 'movies' and therefore they are painting a scene of Harry Potter, Henry's favorite movie sequel.

''Excuse me, I'm looking for Emma Swan, are you her husband?'' a voice asks.

Charming laughs and says, ''no, I'm her… cousin. May I ask who you are?''

Snow has listened to the conversation and joins her husband at the door.

''My name is Neal Cassady and I'm… Well I'm actually not really sure what I'm doing here. I know Emma from a long time ago and I heard she has moved to Storybrooke.''

Henry appears behind his grandparents. For a few seconds it is totally silent and Neal can do nothing more but stare at the boy who stands in front of him.

''Let, let me come back later when Emma is home,'' he finally stutters.

''Ok than, see you later?'' Charming says, astonished about what just happened.

When they have closed the door, Henry asks: ''who was that?''

Charming and Snow only look at each other, wondering the same thing: ''could this man be Henry's father?''

* * *

When Neal is walking from Emma´s apartment building to Granny's, he steps back just in time to not get hit by Emma's yellow Beetle.

''Hey, watch it!'' Emma yells, but then brakes abruptly when she sees who she almost hit. ''No! No! Of all the people in the world, I definitely can't deal with you. She almost put her foot back on the gas pedal, but Neal jumps in front of the car to stop her.

''Please Emma, wait, I can explain.''

Emma finally steps out of the car. ''What is there to explain? Because of you I had a messed up life and even went to jail for it. There I found out that I was pregnant… '' She waits a few seconds to let the message sink in. ''Now I had expected the 'surprised look' on your face, but since you don't show it, I imagine someone told you already. Who told you? You better not have been to my house in the time you're here, or else…''

''Wait, Emma, please, please let me explain,'' Neal interrupts. Quickly he tells her about how August had asked him to turn her in with the police at the time and how he in turn asked August to send all the money and the car to Emma later. He finishes with explaining that he received a postcard from August and that is when he decided to visit Emma in Storybrooke.

''Ok,'' Emma says, ''I don't know if I have to thank you now or not. ''But the question still remains, how do you know about the existence of my son, of our son actually?''

When Neal tells her that he has been to her apartment and has seen Henry , Emma gets furious.

''What did you do? I told my son his father was a fireman who died a heroic death…''she says.

''But I told your family that I was looking for you Emma,'' Neal quickly goes on, '' and when they told me you weren't home, I left. I didn't say a word to Henry.''

''O man, you just can't be here Neal,'' Emma sighs, ''Henry is not ready yet for knowing the truth. I'm not ready for telling him the truth about who his father is for that matter. And we are both fine Henry and I, we're doing fine without you and I don't know why you are here. Please leave us alone.''

She turns around and gets back in her car.

* * *

Once back in her apartment building late that evening, Emma almost doesn't dare opening the door to her apartment, afraid of facing Charming, Snow and worse even, to face Henry.

But when she enters her apartment, she sees her parents asleep on the couch with her son in the middle.

For a moment Emma enjoys this scene of her family, her home. Then is it when she realizes she doesn't have to be afraid for Henry, as her parents are there next to her, to protect him with everything they have.

She grabs a blanket from the leaning chair, puts it over them and sits down beside her mother.

When she lays her head on her mother's shoulder, Snow puts her arm over Emma's shoulders and gives her a warm hug.

* * *

''And, is the plan succeeding?'' Cora asks.

''Does Rumplestiltskin expects that you are his son?'' asks Hook.

''And is Emma trusting you with Henry? Does Regina feel threatened by you being here?''

''Madam, Sir, not so fast… '' Neal says cryptically. ''The hints I dropped with Regina must have been passed onto Rumplestiltskin and he must suspect something, but I don't know if he thinks that I'm his son. We have to give this some time. I need to come closer in order to make the plan work.

And in your interest Cora, I'm still working on getting Emma's trust, but I'm sure that that will work out fine. She will let me come near Henry shortly. And yes, I believe that Regina feels threatened by me entering the town, as father of her child. She will keep focusing on me and in the meantime, you can make your move.''

''Good job, Neal, good job. You will be richly rewarded, that is, if our plans will succeed,'' says Cora.

''I wouldn't doubt about that…'' says Neal, ''I have everything under control.´´

**Ok, this was the first chapter of _The unexpected visitor. _I hope you guys liked it. Do you think it's credible and do you wish to read more? I would really appreciate your reviews, thanks! I promise next chapter will be better structured. There was just a lot I wanted to share in the first chapter to give the characters a proper introduction. They were just begging for it ;)**


	2. Which Way Now?

**Thanks for the reviews I received on the previous chapter. I really do appreciate your comments! **

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

******Which Way Now?**

As Snow holds her daughter and looks at her, she knows everything's going to be all right. She has faith in her daughter, faith that Emma will get through this even though the inevitable wall that has been built up, brick by brick, over the last 28 years.

''28 years,'' Snow thinks in herself, ''I've missed 28 years of my daughters life. All these years are gone and are never coming back.''

Immediately her thoughts return to that horrible day in the Enchanted Land, where she had first met her daughter and had to send her away to a place she didn't know.

''That was the most horrific day of my life,'' she ponders. '' I will never forget these tiny fingers, desperately trying to hold onto my thumb, like if Emma knew what was going to happen to her, that we had to leave her all by herself. I swear I saw that fighting spirit in her eyes the moment I first held her, the same fighting spirit that has brought her where she is now. ''

Snow casts a last glance at her sleeping daughter and closes her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Henry is the first one awake. ''Emma, you're back! Are you still mad at me?'' he calls out with a guilty look on his face.

Emma opens her eyes and for a second she needs to figure out where she is. Once she has established that she is lying on the couch, she realizes what Henry just asked her.

''Henry, I'm not mad at you, I never was!'' She takes his hands in her own and continues: ''I need you to hear this. I was never angry at you. I made a big mistake and I'm so sorry for that. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way.''

Snow and Charming have woken as well and leave the room to give Emma and Henry some space.

''So you don't think that I'll be in danger with my grandparents?'' Henry asks hesitantly.

''I realize now that you will be safe with your grandparents, because they will protect you with their whole heart. I'm still a bit insecure about this whole new situation, you see? I need to settle in a bit better and get some time trying to figure things out for myself. I promise it will get better. Does any of this make sense?''

Henry's posture relaxes. ''Yes of course I understand. I'm just so relieved you aren't angry with me or anything.''

''No Henry, how can I be angry with you? Come here,'' Emma says and she gives Henry a big hug. ''Now, let's see what gramps and grams are up to… I bet they're making the most delicious breakfast you've ever tasted,'' she says with a big smile on her face.

Henry runs towards the kitchen.

Emma is still sitting on the couch, perplexed about what she just said to Henry. ''This whole situation must have affected my character as well,'' she thinks in herself. ''I would never have shared my personal feelings like this before. I'd rather ignore it and put it far, far away.

''Emma, will you join us for breakfast?'' Snow wakes Emma from her daydream. ''I've baked Henry's favorite pancakes, with chocolate and banana.''

''You see,'' says Emma as she teasingly pokes Henry, ''I told you they would make us something delicious.''

* * *

During breakfast, Emma still feels an uncomfortable atmosphere hanging in the air.

Henry seems to notice it to as he says: ''mom I think I go get ready for school now.''

''But you haven't even finished your pancake yet,'' Emma replies.

''I'm not so hungry today,'' Henry says and he runs upstairs.

''Emma I have to get ready to,'' says Snow and she gets up.

Now Emma and Charming are the only ones left at the table.

A few minutes pass without any of the two saying a word.

Finally, Emma says: ''Look David, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean it that way. Well actually I did at first, but I've come to realize that I'm the one with a problem, not everyone else.'' She starts to clear the table, uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Charming doesn't find it any easier to talk, sees Emma. He is clearly looking for the right thing to say. ''Another trait that I've inherited from my father,'' Emma thinks.

''Emma, I really try to put myself in your position. And I understand that it must be very difficult for you to adapt and to find your place in this family. But you really have to start trusting us, because we'll not leave you anymore. You and Henry are safe with us.'' He stops there, afraid of Emma's reaction. He can't stand seeing his daughter suffer. When there is no response from Emma, he quickly says: ''And now, you're going to help me with these dishes, because I'll not do it all by myself.'' He tries to force a grin on his face.

''Fine, but you'll be doing the drying,'' says Emma, relieved to focus on something else. Charming's message definitely has made its impression on her and she is trying hard to hide her watery eyes.

''Ok darlings, we'll be leaving for school,'' says Snow while she comes downstairs. She quickly gives Charming a gentle kiss on the cheek and smiles at Emma.

''Bye mom, bye gramps,'' Henry says and he walks out the door with Snow.

The two left in the kitchen continue with the dishes.

''Emma, there is just one thing I need to talk to you about…'' says Charming. He doesn't know how to begin. ''Well, yesterday, there was a man at the door…''

''Neal,'' Emma finishes, with a vicious look in her eyes.

''Have you seen him already?'' Charming asks.

''Yes, I almost ran him over yesterday with my car. I bet you've already figured out who he is?''

''Is he Henry's father?''

''O yes, unfortunately he is. How Henry turned out to be such a nice kid is beyond me, but he must have inherited my characteristics instead of Neal's…'' says Emma with a sad smile. She continues: ''David, I need you to promise me one thing. You can never say anything to Henry about who this man is. Not until I'm ready. I can't hurt Henry anymore and if he finds out that I lied about who is father is…''

''No need to explain Emma, I understand'', Charming reassures her.

''Thanks David. I really appreciate it. And now I just hope Neal doesn't come back. I've asked him yesterday to stay away from me and Henry, but Neal really isn't the obedient type.''

''Oh, another stubborn person? There are a lot of them running around nowadays…'' Charming says teasingly to Emma.

''What are you insinuating Prince Charming?'' Emma says, while she splashes some water against her fathers' head.

''Ahh, is this where you want to go? Well let's bring it on than!'' says Charming as he grabs a handful of foam and smears it in Emma's hair.

''Ok, ok I surrender, I surrender!'' Emma says raising both of her hands in the air. ''I'll never win from you.''

''You get that right missy!'' With a big smile Charming finishes the rest of the dishes and cleans the table.

''Ok, I better get ready for work. Thanks… dad.'' Quickly Emma takes off to her bedroom and takes off without saying goodbye.

She leaves Charming standing in the kitchen completely stunned. ''Did Emma actually just called him 'dad'?''

* * *

In the Fairytale Land that was, Baelfire is clinging onto his father's hand. ''Please papa, it's the only way we can be together!''

''I can't!''

''You coward! You promised! Don't break our deal!''

''I have to!'' cries Rumplestilstskin and he lets go of his boy's hand.

''Papa, no!'' Baelfire cries out.

He feels that he falls deeper and deeper in the wild spinning tornado. The noise he hears is deafening and he wishes it to stop. He feels his stomach twisting.

Then suddenly, from one second to the other, he lands on something hard with his face forward. The noise stops in an instant.

Still dazzled from the intense journey, he looks up slowly. He only sees trees surrounding him and he doesn't know where he is. He tries to stand up, but his right foot hurts so bad, that he has to sit down again. ''I must have twisted my ankle with the fall'', Baelfire thinks in himself.

From anxiety, his feelings turn into rage. ''Why papa, why didn't you go with me? You're such a coward! Everyone who says that is right. I can see that now.'' he cries out loud.

Out of the dense bushes, a young boy suddenly appears. He is dressed in a dirty white blouse and brown pants with holes in it. The dirt on his face implies that he must have been in the woods for a long time.

''Hey, who are you?'' He asks Baelfire while he is pointing a knife towards him.

''My, my name is Baelfire and please don't hurt me with that knife.'' The anxiety is back.

''What are you doing here?'' the boy asks, with the knife still pointing at Baelfire. The look in his eyes is fierce.

''I was sent here,'' Baelfire replies, not sure if he should explain the how-part of getting here, after all, this is a place without magic right? That is what the Blue Fairy had told him.

''Why?'' The questions towards Baelfire continue incessantly.

''Because it was safer for me here,'' Baelfire answers.

''Are you all by yourself?''

''Yes, I came alone.''

The boy looks if he still doesn't trust Baelfire. He appears to think for a minute before he speaks again, assessing the situation.

Baelfire is holding his breath, afraid for what's to come.

''Ok than,'' the boy says, ''come with me.''

''But I can't stand up, my ankle…'' Baelfire says as he points to his right foot.

The boy tears a piece of his blouse and puts it around Baelfire's injured ankle. ''This will do,'' he says.

He helps Bealfire to get up and together they walk towards a group of pines.

''Where are we going?'' Baelfire asks.

''No questions, just follow me,'' answers the boy.

They both stay quiet for the whole duration of the trip. After an hour of walking, which feels like eternity for Baelfire, they finally arrive in a large open space. Baelfire can see the sea behind the last trees.

Three other boys come running towards Baelfire and the boy.

''Who is this?'' They ask anxiously.

''He's one of us now,'' the boy says. ''Tell us your name.''

''My name is Baelfire, but who are you?''

''We, the boy starts to speak, ''are the Lost Boys.''

* * *

**That was it for today. Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous one, although not all the characters have been shown here. Like always, I would really appreciate your comments :)**


	3. Little Monsters

**First of all, Merry Christmas to all of you! Even though it is Christmas day, the Once Upon a Time characters wouldn't stop bothering me, they wanted to have their story told :) **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Little Monsters**

The school exhibition arrived sooner than anyone had expected. All the hustle and bustle around the classrooms with parents and children didn't make it easier for Snow to coordinate the event.

''Where can I display my Shrek puppet?'' A little girl asks with a paper mache resemblance of movie character Shrek in her hands.

''Well let's place that here,'' Snow says with a flushed face.

''Excuse me, do you know where I can find a pair of scissors to finish my work?'' asks another girl.

''Yes, wait I just had one on my desk… Where is that thing? Did someone see a pair of scissors on this desk?'' Snow calls out to the crowd. Of course, no answer. She sighs, ''let me find that for you, just give me a couple of minutes.''

''Sorry, but I think this is not the right table to display my son's art project, can't it be with the other paintings over there?'' points a mother.

''Yes, yes fine!'' says Snow, cleary getting a bit irritated.

At that moment Henry and Emma walk in the classroom, totally overwhelmed with all the commotion.

''Are the exhibitions always like this?'' asks Emma to Henry.

''Yes it is,'' says Henry with an enormous grin on his face. ''I think it's the only time of year where we get to see grams' face turning from pale white to flushed pink.''

Emma bursts into laughter. She sees that Snow is too busy running around to notice her and Henry standing in the entrance.

Even though the relationship between Emma and Snow is better now, the two women haven't seen each other for days. Snow was so busy preparing for the exhibition that she didn't find the time to come over and visit Emma and Henry.

''Hey stranger,'' Emma says, while she taps Snow on the shoulder.

Snow turns around when she hears a voice all too familiar. She shows a relieved smile. ''Hey guys, I didn't even notice you enter, but you're right on time to lend me a hand. The visitors will be here in half an hour. Here, can you take this and bring it to the classroom next to ours?'' Snow drops a box full of craft material in Emma's hands.

''Well it's nice to see you too Mary Margaret,'' Emma says with a sarcastic smile. But Snow doesn't even hear the comment anymore, as she is busy helping the children and their parents setting up the art.

Henry gives his painting of Harry Potter to Snow and she puts it on an easel for everyone to see it. ''Wow Henry, it's beautiful!'' Snow calls out.

''Thanks…'' Henry says. ''But I couldn't do it without your and moms help.''

The painting shows the scene of a Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin with the famous Hogwarts castle in the background. Harry is painted in close-up with the golden snitch in his hands. He holds it up in triumph. ''Because good always wins,'' Henry says.

''You're totally right about that,'' Snow answers with a laugh.

After half an hour Snow has worked everyone out of the classroom and she walks towards the schoolyard. The square in front of the school is jammed with people, all excited to go inside and take a look. Snow gets on an elevated platform and takes the microphone in her hand that is standing there.

''Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here today at the yearly art exhibition. The students of Storybrooke Elementary are proud to show…'' she stops there as she can't believe who is standing in the middle of the crowd. ''…all of you their work today and we can all be so proud of what they have accomplished. I promise you, all the art is beautiful! I'll not let you wait any longer, so please come in and take a look.''

Quickly Snow gets off the platform and tries to find Emma. But in the stream of people getting inside school, Emma is nowhere to be found.

Inside, Henry is standing content next to his painting. He already received some compliments and is ready to show it to more people. He then spots Regina among the visitors. ''Mom, you came?!'' he says unbelievably.

''Of course I came Henry,'' Regina says. ''I got your invitation, and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world.'' She takes a detailed look at the painting.

Henry is waiting in anticipation for her reaction. Even though the bond between mother and adopted son isn't the best, Henry still finds it very important that he can share these kind of moments with her.

''It's beautiful Henry,'' Regina finally says sincere.

A sigh of relief escapes Henry's mouth when he hears Regina say this.

At that moment, Neal walks towards Henry and Regina. He looks tense.

Regina is still looking at Henry's painting and doesn't realize that Neal is walking towards them.

''Hey, I've seen you before, you came at our door last week,'' Henry says to him.

Regina turns around. ''Mr Cassady, what are you doing here?'' she asks, biting her tongue.

''Well, I, I saw all the flyers hanging around town and I love art…'' Neal says doubtingly.

''You two know each other?'' Henry asks.

''Well we've met briefly,'' Regina quickly says. This was not going well… Henry always asks too many questions and she doesn't want him to know the true identity of this man. ''I hope his mother feels the same way about it…'' she ponders.

Emma walks into the classroom with a bowl filled with cookies and a can of milk to distribute to the pupils and their visitors. The scene she sees unfolding around her son worries her. It terrifies her actually. She almost throws the bowl with cookies and the can of milk on the nearest table she can find and urges her way to Henry, Regina and Neal.

''Can I speak to you for a second? Alone?'' Emma asks Neal as calm as possible, with her eyes on Henry.

Neal follows her to the other end of the classroom.

''What the hell were you thinking showing up here?'' Emma says in a low voice, trying not to warn any of the other visitors of the exhibition. ''Didn't I ask you to leave us alone the other day?''

''Yes you did, and I've really tried, but when I saw Henry the in your apartment, I just couldn't, I just couldn't get him out of my mind. The idea that I've missed almost eleven years of his life, unknowing that I even had a son…''

''Well you should've thought about that before you ran off to Canada and left me to rot in a jail cell,'' Emma says. ''The only thing I got from you were the car keys and the money you received from selling the watches. You didn't even bother to send me a letter. For God's sake, I didn't even know where I could reach you!'' Her voice modulates to an higher tone.

At that moment, Snow walks in on the two. ''I think you can better go now Neal,'' she says. ''This is not the place.''

Emma sends a thankful glance to Snow.

''I understand,'' Neal says, ''I'm sorry. But Emma, I really wish to explain my side of the story to you one day.''

''We'll see about that,'' Emma growls. She turns around and walks back to Henry who is still talking with Regina. How much this scene would have bothered her before, Neal is now worry-priority number one.

''Henry I love your painting and I'm really glad you sent me the invitation,'' Regina says with a soft expression on her face. ''Now I need to talk with your… mother… for a minute.'' She walks out of the classroom.

Emma can't do nothing else but to follow her. ''What is it this time Regina?'' She asks with a hostile tone of voice. It was never a good thing when Regina wanted to speak to her.

''I don't want this Neal-person in the vicinity of Henry. Legally, Henry is still my son and I don't want him to hang out with people who'll have a bad influence on him,'' says Regina bluntly. The look on her face hardens. ''I took the liberty to look into this man's file and that for sure didn't look pretty.''

''Why would you look into his file?'' Emma asks.

''Because as the mayor of the town, I need to know who enters Storybrooke. Maybe it slipped your mind Miss Swan, but it has been a long time since someone new crossed Storybrooke borders.''

This last sentence aroused Emma's attention. Last time that someone had entered Storybrooke was when August, or Pinnochio, came into town. ''But I thought only people from the Enchanted land could cross Storybrooke's town lines? And Neal might be an interesting case, but he's definitely not a fairytale character of some kind.''

''That is what worries me as well. Do you actually know Neal as good as you think you do?''

''Yes, he can't be a fairytale character. The broken curse or cause magic is back in town must have changed things around here. That must be it.'' Emma is trying to convince herself maybe even more than she's trying to convince Regina.

''Just don't let this man near Henry ever again,'' Regina says firmly, and with that the discussion is closed.

While Regina walks out of the school, Emma returns to the classroom where her son is waiting nervously.

''Emma, who was that man? What does he want from you?''

''That Henry, is _no-one _and we won't see him again.'' When Emma looks into Henry's eyes she knows she doesn't get away with this easily. Henry has put his 'operation face' on and that can't mean anything good.

* * *

The next morning, Rumplestiltskin and Belle just finished breakfast in their home.

Belle observes her beloved one for a while and notices that he looks absent. His eyes are constantly focused on a spot on the wall and he hasn't said a word the whole morning.

''Earth to Rumple!'' she tries. Silence. ''Rumple, is something wrong?'' She tries again.

''What?'' Rumple says, disturbed from his thoughts.

''I just asked if something's wrong? You act so..'' Belle is looking for the right word, ''distant, lately.''

''Everything's fine,'' Rumplestiltskin tries to reassure his love.

But Belle isn't convinced. ''You almost haven't been home this week. When you weren't in the shop you were down in the basement spinning on the wheel, only God knows what you're exactly doing down there.'' Belle's face hardens. You aren't using magic again are you? You'd promised me you wouldn't use magic anymore.''

Rumplestiltskin feels he has to tell her something. She is getting too suspicious and he can't lie to her. Man, why did he fall in love with this beautiful woman? It makes everything so complicated.

''Belle, I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anyone before. I tell it to you know because I trust you, because I know you'll keep it to yourself.''

Belle suddenly grabs both of his hands. Finally, he's showing some sort of trust in her. ''You can tell me everything Rumple. I know it's hard for you to have trust in people, but I'm here for you.''

A little shock wave runs from Rumplestiltskin's hands towards his heart. He had never felt such love for a woman before, not even for his wife Milah. ''I've a son…'' he finally manages. ''And I made a huge, huge mistake, the biggest mistake a father can make in his life.'' He stops.

Belle squeezes his hands softly.

When Rumplestilskin continues his story, he feels tears well up in his eyes. Embarrassed he looks the other way.

''It's ok,'' Belle says, ''you can let it out, there is no-one else here but me.''

Belle holds him in her arms and a sudden feeling of relief overwhelms him. The feeling that he's not alone anymore, that he has someone who he can rely on.

They sit like this for a couple of minutes. Rumple gently strikes Belle's face and an intense kiss follows as the inevitable result of their love for each other. Both are in a state of trance, drowning in each other's eyes.

Finally, Belle withdraws herself from the intimate embrace. ''I've to go to the library,'' she says quietly. ''Snow's class will be visiting today to borrow some books for school. She glances a last time in Rumple's dark eyes. ''Don't worry too much, we'll search for Baelfire, together we'll find your son. Whatever you might have done in the past, is in the past.'' She gives him a last kiss.

Rumplestiltskin has left out his suspicions that Neal Cassady might actually be Baelfire. As Belle would know _how_ he is trying to figure out if that's the case, he would lose her and he wants to do everything to prevent that from happening. He kisses her on the cheek and says: ''thank you Belle, for everything, I love you.''

''I love you to,'' Belle answers softly and she closes the door behind her.

* * *

**So what do you think Rumple is up to? And can he keep up appearances for Belle? **

**Have a lovely day you all, Happy Holidays!**


	4. Is There a Woogy in the House?

**Wow I just want to express my amazement over the fact that even though it was Christmas, you still took the time to read this story, to follow, review and to favorite it. Thanks so much for that! I really do appreciate it!**

**Now let us quickly continue with the story, as you're probably be wondering where it will be heading?**

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

******Is There a Woogy in the House?**

''The Lost Boys?'' Baelfire repeats questioningly. He feels kind of intimidated by the four boys surrounding him. He guesses they can't be much older than him. They're all dressed in strange clothing, ranging from what look like pajamas to old rags.

''You've never heard of us?'' one of the boys asks a little offended. ''Lost Boys, Peter Pan…?''

''No I'm afraid I haven't,'' Baelfire replies.

''It must be because he's from another land,'' another boy suggests.

The other boys nod simultaneously.

''Well, my name is Skunk,'' says the boy who found Baelfire earlier in the woods. ''And this are Foxy, Rabbit and Cubby,'' he continues. ''We've lived her forever.''

''Forever? But how can that be?'' giggles Baelfire, relaxing a bit. ''You're still children.''

''Oh, but no-one in Neverland turns older, didn't you know that?''

''Neverland? Is that the name of this land?'' asks Baelfire.

''Well the person who sent you here didn't inform you well beforehand did he?'' Skunk sarcastically asks.

''I don't want to talk about him…'' Baelfire says, suddenly getting angry again with the memories of his father. Before the boys can ask him any questions he continues: ''but where are your parents?''

''We don't have parents…'' Rabbit says with a sad look in his eyes. ''We've each other,'' he says while he is looking to the others.

''And we have Captain Jones,'' completes Cubby Skunk's sentence.

''But we call him Hook,'' Skunk says. ''He let us work for him and in return we can get to go with him on his ship, travelling the world.''

''Having great adventures,'' Cubby adds with a grin.

''And who is that Peter Pan, you talked about?'' asks Baelfire. He is getting more curious with the minute.

''Well, that's someone WE would rather not talk about…'' Skunk says. He awaits the reaction of the others. When they all give him an encouraging look, he continues. ''But in short, Peter was our leader a long time ago. He helped us, we hung around with him and had the best of times together.''

''We even fought Hook together with him,'' Rabbit continues grimly. ''Until that one time that he met this girl…''

''Wendy…'' Foxy says quietly with a face full of disgust.

Baelfire listens breathlessly to the boy's story. He is fascinated by them. They've experienced the greatest of adventures and always will keep the innocence of a child. It all sounded fantastic in Baelfire's ears.

''He fell in love with her and one thing led to another,'' Skunk continues.

''She had the worst influence on him,'' says Cubby, ''telling him he couldn't stay a child his whole life and demanding that he wouldn't hang around us anymore. That he needed to grow up.''

''Peter didn't listen to us anymore and only had eye for that Wendy girl. On a stormy morning he packed his bags and left with her to another land. To a land where he would be able to grow older. We haven't heard from him since,'' says Rabbit.

The four boys are quiet for a few seconds.

Finally, Foxy breaks the silence. ''But then, Hook approached us. He offered us deckhand jobs at his ship in return for protection. Of course we were scared at first, because he was our enemy for a long time. But we had no-one to turn to and we figured that Peter's clouded judgment caused by Wendy was something that we had to overcome. There was no way we could survive here by ourselves,'' he says softly.

The other boys only stare at him, because the boy just had used some very difficult words there.

Baelfire notices that Foxy is the quietest of the group. Skunk seems to be the leader of the gang.

He is now also the one who gets up and encourages the others to do the same. ''We have to make a fire, it's almost dark,'' he says.

The three other boys quickly get up and gather wood for the fire. Baelfire feels he has to do the same. Unfortunately, he had never made a fire before. That was something his father always did back home. Thinking about home makes him sentimental. Even though he feels the deepest hatred for his father, the fact that he is here now in a new, unfamiliar land, makes him dizzy. He just met these boys who told him about this captain-person who takes care of them and about the fact that apparently in this land, no-one is aging. The whole situation is terrifying and exciting at the same time.

When the fire is set up, Skunk says to Bealfire: ''So, now you've heard our story. It's time to share yours.''

Foxy and Cubby just return from the beach, with a basket full of delightful-looking fish. Baelfire has been too busy processing all the new impressions from today that he hadn't notice before how hungry he is. His mouth starts to water when he sees their dinner. ''This is what it must feel like to have friends'', he thinks when he is handed a fish.

In his own land he didn't have real friends. Everyone was afraid of Baelfire's father, 'The Dark One.' They didn't dare to come close, afraid to do something wrong in The Dark One's eyes and be horribly punished for it.

Baelfire mind is torn. Shall he tell the boys about his father and the way he got here? He suddenly feels very vulnerable. Telling the Lost Boys the whole story could leave them distrust him, because a boy with a father so evil can't be no good right? All the 'apple doesn't fall far from the tree' nonsense would be applied on him. On the other hand, if he decides to tell them nothing, they will get the feeling they can't trust him either. And they still might turn against him.

The boys already look curious at him, ready to hear his story.

Bealfire is choosing his words carefully. He makes the final decision to tell the boys an altered version of the truth. He feels it is too risky to tell them the whole truth and besides, he can add information later on, when he trusts them more. He tells the Lost Boys that his father became evil by accident, but wanted to do everything to change this around. That he was willing even to travel with his son to a land without magic and in this way, giving up his powers.

''But why isn't he here with you then?'' Cubby asks.

Bealfire again waits a few seconds before answering. ''Because… because he is a coward… He let go of my hand right before I was sucked into the portal.''

''That is why you cried out that 'he is such a coward,'' Skunk nods, now understanding Baelfire's outburst from before. ''But no need to worry anymore. We and Hook are here to help you. You can stay with us.''

Graceful Baelfire looks at Skunk and takes a bite from the roasted fish. It taste delicious.

''But,'' starts Foxy. Baelfire hasn't heard him all the time they've been sitting beside the fire. ''You said that you and your dad were supposed to be sent to a land without magic? But Neverland has tons of magic! We used to fly with Peter all the time!'' A smile appears on his face remembering that particular memory. ''That was pure magic.'' Foxy's voice isn't more than a soft whisper.

''Shy, but observant that Foxy,'' Baelfire thinks.

''No you're right Foxy, I haven't thought about that,'' he says. ''It must be because my dad wasn't there with me. His power was supposed to led us towards the right land, but because he didn't came with me, I ended up here.'' That sounded like a plausible explanation and he hopes it to be true.

The other boys seem to agree as no-one of them asks any more questions. They're feasting on their dinner and make smacking sounds.

''Where is this Captain Hook now?'' asks Baelfire.

''Oh, he had to take care of some business, he will return tomorrow at dawn,'' says Rabbit absently. ''You'll meet him then. I think he's happy to have another deckhand for his ship. It has been busy lately.''

* * *

When they finally are in their beds of straw later that night, Baelfire let the events of the day pass in his mind one more time. It has been an impressive day and one he certainly wouldn't forget.

The others make soft snoring sounds.

Tomorrow he will meet Captain Hook. According to the boys, that must be a piece of work. ''I hope I've made the right choice to trust these Lost Boys,'' Baelfire ponders. ''Well, we'll see..''

After a few hours, Baelfire finally falls in a restless sleep.

* * *

When Belle walks homewards from the library, it is already dark. ''Me and my silly books,'' she thinks, ''when I start reading one I get so carried away that I totally lose track of time. Rumple must be worried about where I am.''

Rumplestiltkin's house is located in the woods, far away from local civilization. ''It's such a shame he closes off himself from the rest of the world,'' Belle ponders. ''It definitely doesn't benefit my attempts to change his reputation around here.'' Her thoughts go back to the conversation they had this morning. The fact that Rumple has a son completely struck her by surprise. Her whole heart goes out to him and she wishes he had only told her sooner so that she could be there for him. So that he didn't had to carry this enormous weight by himself. There is still a part of him not trusting her fully and that bothered her.

When she leaves Storybrooke's town center and enters the forest, she is even more on guard, not feeling safe. That is also why she almost jumps in the bushes next to hear when she sees headlights coming right at her.

When the driver of the car spots her, he stops and opens his window. ''Well you must be Belle?! I've heard so much about you,'' he says with a big smile.

Belle is too stunned to reply immediately. Who is this stranger and more importantly, how does he know who she is?

The man in the car sees the surprised look on Belle's face. ''Oh, how rude of me, you obviously have no idea who I am?'' he says.

''To be honest, no I don't,'' Belle admits.

''My name is Neal, I'm an old friend of Rumple. I just wanted to visit him, but it appears that he isn't home at the moment.''

In the time that Belle was rescued from the psychiatric wing of the hospital, she didn't had enough time to meet everyone in Storybrooke. So that she hasn't seen this man before makes sense. However, Rumple never mentioned a guy named 'Neal' and she knows this sounded harsh, but she didn't even know that he had any friends. It also worries her that Rumple isn't home yet. His shop closes normally at 6PM and he is always home when she gets back from work. He might be searching for his son without her...

When Neal sees Belle's pondering face, he quickly says: ''you know what, I'll come back another time. Just let Rumple know I passed by and tell him I'll be back,'' he says with a wink.

''Of course, no problem,'' answers Belle absently.

When the car drives away Belle accelerates her pace. When she arrives at Rumple's house she sees that all the lights inside are turned off. She doesn't trust the situation.

When she opens the front door she calls out: ''Rumple, Rumple are you home?'' Complete silence follows. Belle walks directly towards the basement, the place where Rumple has hidden for the last week. But there is no-one there either. Quickly she runs towards the telephone.

Rumple luckily had explained her a few weeks ago how the machine works and he had written some phone numbers down for her as well. She still had some trouble with some of the inventions of this modern world. Now she just hoped she remembered how to call someone with the phone as she had never had to use it before.''Don't panic Belle and think,'' she tries to calm herself.

''Take the horn off the telephone and push the buttons of the number that is on the paper,'' she recalls Rumple explaining to her.

Her hands are shaking so bad that she dials the wrong number. When she puts the horn against her ear she only hears an annoying beeping tone. ''That can't be good,'' she thinks.

''When you've dialed the wrong number lay down the horn back on the telephone and try it again,'' she hears Rumple saying in her head.

So that is what she does. Her second attempt proves to be more successful. She now hears the phone making connection. She desperately retains the horn firmly in her hand and waits for a few minutes. But no-one on the other end is picking up. ''So he's not in his shop,'' Belle concludes. She tries the next number on the list.

After a few seconds a friendly voice on the other end of the line answers: ''Good evening, Granny's bed & breakfast, Ruby speaking, how may I help you?''

''Hi Ruby,'' says Belle nervously, ''it's Belle speaking. Have you maybe see my boyfriend today?''

''Rumplestilstkin…?'' asks Ruby as her voice turns cold. ''No, I'm afraid not. Why?''

''Well, he isn't home and he's always home when I come back from work. He also isn't in his shop, I've tried calling there. I'm starting to worry something might have happened to him.''

Ruby tries to ease her friend. ''He is probably out there doing business Belle, I don't think you have to worry about him. He can take care of himself.''

''Yes I know that, but it's nothing like him to not leave a note or to call or something,'' Belle says almost hysterically.

''You know what,'' says Ruby, ''you just stay inside and wait for him there. I'll keep an eye out for him here and if we both haven't seen him within two hours, we start searching for him.'' Even though Ruby hates Rumplestiltskin, Belle is still her friend and she would never let her down.

''That's ok, I guess…'' says Belle with a slight hesitation in her voice.

''Ok, don't you worry now, he'll be back,'' says Ruby before she hangs up.

* * *

''It has been done, I've planted enough seeds for you to continue,'' says Neal to Cora and Hook. ''You're free to make your moves,'' he goes on with an evil smile.

''Finally!'' says Hook. He and Cora haven't sit still the last weeks, on the contrary, but they both are pleased that they finally can get out of their hiding place, that they finally can surface.

* * *

**So where is Rumple? And what will the meeting between Hook and Baelfire be like? But maybe more importantly, what are Cora and Hook up to in the present time? Share your ideas here and we'll see if you have guessed right ;) **

**As always, I would really appreciate your feedback so that I can make this story better. :)**

**Next time we'll be seeing more of the Charmings and the other characters. To be continued...**


	5. Wrestling with demons

**More of the Charming's coming right up!**

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

******Wrestling With Demons**

''Wait a minute, she calls you '_dad'_?'' says Snow with her big disbelieving eyes.

''O no, here we go,'' thinks Charming.

''She only called me that once, the day after she ran away. She never called me that again afterwards, I swear!'' says Charming to ease his wife.

But it's like Snow doesn't hear what he just said. ''Great, so with me, Emma is still in the 'Mary Margaret' phase, but apparently the two of you have passed that phase already?''

This is what Charming was afraid would happen and that's why he had postponed the moment where he would tell Snow about the 'dad-calling-incident' as long as possible. ''But Snow, it really happened just one time and I think Emma was just as shocked about it as I was. Maybe it was easier for her to call me 'dad', because she doesn't share the large amount of history with me as she does have with you. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything.''

''Whatever,'' sniffs Snow, still not convinced.

She continues with folding the clothes she got out of the dryer. The jealous feeling she has isn't going away. And she knows she can't take it out on her husband, but she had a rough day and since there is no-one else around, Charming is the victim of her crankiness.

Deep inside she knows that it's not only jealousy, but also the feeling of guilt that is bothering her. She feels guilty for leaving her daughter alone so many years ago. She had always believed they had done it to give their daughter 'her best chance,' but was the life Emma was given worth all of this? ''Did we do the right thing? Sending her here, to this world? She had such a rough youth. She doesn't even want to share all of her stories with us, because they are too painful,'' Snow thinks in herself. She starts to cry. Quickly she gathers all of the folded clothes together and puts it in the laundry basket before she runs upstairs.

Charming's concerned eyes follow her upstairs, but he doesn't. The resemblance between his wife and daughter is shocking. They both share that fighting spirit, but also the uncertainty. The first characteristic mentioned has been unwillingly forced upon them in order to survive and the latter comes from deep within. Mary Margaret was the personification of that uncertainty, but now that all of Snow's memories have returned, she has become much fiercer. Charming knows it's better to leave her alone for a bit to calm down, how hard this is on him. He wishes he could just take all of her pain away in a heartbeat, but he knows he can't.

* * *

There's a knock on the door.

Charming casts a last look upstairs, which he knows is pointless. Snow won't come downstairs. He then gets up to open the door.

For a second he stares in the pitch blackness of the night before he realizes that he needs to look down.

''Good evening prince, is Snow home?'' asks Grumpy.

Charming doesn't really know what to answer. ''Yes she is home… but she doesn't wants to be disturbed right now.''

The answer is not well received by Grumpy as he looks a bit offended. Their princess doesn't want to be disturbed? Not even by him? ''Is everything ok?'' he therefore asks.

''Yes, Snow's fine, it's just… girl stuff,'' answers Charming.

''Oh, I see...'' says Grumpy, not really interested in the details. Girl stuff is something that Grumpy isn't good at, never was, and he's not intended to get into the subject. ''Well I guess it can't hurt not having her here, you can fill her in later,'' he says to Charming.

''What is it, Grumpy?''

''Well I've a letter here, on behalf of the majority of the town. See, here are all the signatures,'' Grumpy points out. It's as if he wants to make sure that this isn't just his own idea, but that he has almost all of Storybrooke's citizens backing him up. ''I mean, it's great and all that Emma, I mean your daughter, has broken the curse, but we're still in this godforsaken place. We want to return to our land,'' he says in one breath. He looks down to his feet, afraid of Charming's respond.

''I understand,'' says Charming quietly. In his heart, he also wishes to go back to where they all came from, their land, but what he's heard from Emma and Snow, the land has changed quite a bit.

Worried that he hasn't convinced Charming enough, Grumpy continues: ''Of course we'll all help to set up our return and once back we can live our lives as they were. We belong there.''

''Yes I know Grumpy and I wish nothing more than to return and get our normal lives back, but I'm afraid the curse has not only transferred us here… it has also destroyed our land.''

This new information has to settle in with Grumpy. ''But how do you… how do you know that? Have Emma and Snow actually seen it?''

''Yes they have seen what was left of our kingdom. The curse destroyed it Grumpy.''

''That evil witch! We should have killed her when we had the chance!''

''Grumpy, stop! That wouldn't have mattered. Our land is lost, with or without Regina dead.''

Charming's words seem to calm down Grumpy a bit. ''But isn't there something that we can do? Can't we rebuild it somehow? There must be something!'' Grumpy desperately cries out.

''Let me think about it ok? I'll let you and the other citizens of Storybrooke know as soon as possible. For now, I want to ask you to don't say a word to the others about the destroyed land. I don't want the whole town to be in panic and witch hunting Regina.'' Charming gives Grumpy a deep look, really wanting to get through to the dwarf.

''Of course Your Highness,'' Grumpy answers with a nod. He feels quite important now he is given such an important responsibility. He turns around and walks back into the night.

At that moment, Emma enters the Charmings' garden path. ''Hi Leroy,'' she says, wondering what he was doing at her parents' house.

''Hi Emma,'' answers Grumpy while he continues his walk.

''A lot of visitors we have tonight,'' says Charming with a grin. ''Hi Emma.''

''Hi David, what was Leroy doing here?''

Snow is wondering what's going on downstairs and she enters the hall. She has tried to cover up most of her tears, but her eyes are still a bit red-rimmed.

''Is everything alright Mary Margaret?'' asks Emma worried.

''Yes, everything's fine, don't worry about it,'' answers Snow. When she sees the concern on Emma's face she quickly continues: ''what was that all about Charming? I thought I heard another voice?''

''Well… that was Grumpy at the door. And he had a letter…'' Charming almost doesn't dare to continue.

''What kind of letter?'' asks Snow impatiently.

''It was a letter signed by almost the whole town, they want to go back to our land…''

''No way!'' cry Emma and Snow at the same time. They exchange a worried look.

''Look, I know the land is damaged, but we don't belong here. There needs to be a way for all of us to return and to rebuild the land, to rebuild _our _land,'' says David.

''First of all, this might not be your land, but this is the world as I know it,'' says Emma. ''I may sound very selfish now, but what I've seen there is truly horrible. I can't think of going back there, to put everyone in danger with all the horrifying creatures that walk around there.''

''She's right Charming, you haven't seen it, you haven't experienced it, but we've been there and it is as horrible as Emma just described,'' says Snow. I've never told you this, but when Emma and I were there, we went to our palace. I wanted to show our daughter where she is born, where she is from... The nursery was completely destroyed Charming, nothing was spared.'' Tears well up once again, remembering this awful view.

Emma grabs her mothers' hand and squeezes it softly.

This revelation is like a slap in Charmings' face. Of course he had considered the fact that the land was destroyed, but he didn't thought, well actually didn't _dare _to think about the state of their palace. He doesn't know what to say. Instead, he holds his weeping wife in his strong arms.

The three of them stand there for a while; Charming with his arms around his wife and Emma with Snow's hand in hers.

''We'll fix this Snow, I promise you,'' David finally breaks the silence.

Snow frees herself from the embrace and looks at her husband for a few seconds before she says: ''You don't understand Charming. We can't go back, there's just no way.''

Charming nods understandingly, but is not yet convinced. He decides to leave it for now.

''So, what I actually came here to ask you is if you want to come to my 1-year anniversary party next week at Granny's,'' says Emma to change the subject.

''Is it already one year since you started at the sheriff's office?'' asks Snow wiping away her tears.

''Yeah, I know, time flies, isn't? And I didn't want this event to be so huge, but you can't resist Ruby's persistence right?''

''No you can't,'' says Snow with a grin.

Emma is glad that her mother is laughing again.

''Of course darling, we'll be there,'' says Charming.

''Great!'' says Emma.

''Can I get you something to drink?'' asks Snow.

''A cocoa would be nice,'' says Emma.

Snow heads to the kitchen to make her daughter's favorite drink: cocoa with cinnamon topping. It's a strange habit that mother and daughter share.

How rocky start the night had, the better the atmosphere became.

''I'll never forget Archie's face when he saw Pongo destroying his neighbor's garden. I believe Pongo even had a flower stuck between his collar. It was hilarious!'' Emma bursts out into laughter.

''Yeah I know! Or do you remember that time when Regina had a flat tire and there was no-one willing to help her? When she saw us walking by, I swear she could shoot us!'' adds Snow.

Emma bursts out in another fit of laughter. She has to put down her cocoa before she spills it on her blouse.

Charming is observing the conversation. A smile appears on his face. There they are, the two most important women in his life, chatting and giggling like they've never done anything else. It's a perfect moment.

Finally, Emma takes a glance at her watch. ''I've to go now. Henry convinced me to let him stay home by himself, but I just don't feel comfortable leaving him alone too long.''

''No of course,'' says Snow understandingly. Not being able to see her son for so long when they were in the Enchanted land must have made Emma unsure. Snow recognizes it all too well. ''You can come by any time you know?''

''Yes I know,'' answers Emma with a grin.

When the three of them have said their goodbyes, Snow closes the door. She turns around and faces her husband. ''We can be proud of her, can't we?'' she asks him.

''Definitely,'' says Charming and he places a gentle kiss on his wife's forehead.

* * *

_Earlier that evening…_

''Mom I'll be fine, just go to see grams and gramps,'' says Henry to Emma.

''But it's already dark outside…. Are you sure?'' asks Emma.

''Mom, I'm eleven now, I'm not three anymore…'' answers Henry a little offended. He needs for his mom to leave so that he can check his storybook. With her at home, the risk of exposure is too big. She will be so mad at him when she finds out what he's up to.

Emma finally gives in. ''Alright than, but you'll have to keep the door locked at all times and let no-one in, okay?''

''Yeah, fine,'' says Henry.

''I'll be back before bedtime,'' Emma adds before she leaves the apartment.

''Ok mom…'' sighs Henry.

''Well, see you later then,'' says Emma.

''Bye mom…''

When Emma closes the door behind her, Henry lets out a relieved sigh: ''Finally!'' He runs towards his room and pulls the storybook from under his bed. He flips the pages and when he reaches the end, he flips the pages back again. He can't find what he is looking for. Is there really nothing on Neal Cassady in his book? There must be something… No-one can enter Storybrooke, unless it is a character from his fairytale book. He tries it again and again, but there's nothing about this mysterious man to find.

Then, like magic, Henry looks out of the window and who does he see? Of course, it's Neal walking up the street.

''Ok, that's it, I need to find out more about this man,'' Henry decides. He grabs his coat from the coat stand, gets the spare key from the drawer and leaves the apartment.

Once outside, the first doubts arise. Was this really such a good idea? He catches a glimpse of Neal's coat turning around the corner.

''Here we go, it's now or never.''

Quietly, Henry follows Neal. He stays at a safe distance, too afraid of getting caught.

They pass Mr Gold's pawnshop, Granny's bed & breakfast and Regina's house. Henry stays as far away as possible when they pass his mother's house. Regina seeing him would be devastating for Operation Charlie, as he had called his new adventure.

It's getting later and later. Paved roads have made place for sandy forest paths. Henry realizes that he probably hasn't much time.

They reach Rumplestiltskin's house. Neal suddenly stops and looks around.

Henry quickly jumps into one of the nearest bushes and watches the man walking around Rumple's house. ''Staying two more minutes can't harm…'' he thinks by himself. But he knows he has to get back home, and quick. Silently he gets up and sneaks out of the forest.

Once out of the woods, he runs home like his life's depending on it.

He gets home just seconds before Emma.

When she sees Henry's red cheeks, she asks: ''Henry, is everything alright? Are you sick or something?'' She feels his forehead. ''Henry, you're burning up!''

''Yeah, I guess I don't feel too well…'' Henry says. If he has to fake a fever to conceal what he had been up to this evening, then so be it.

But when he sees Emma's eyes full of worry, he feels guilty. ''I'm sure it's just a cold, I'll go to bed now and I'm sure everything will be fine tomorrow,'' he therefore says.

Flashbacks of Henry in the hospital bed haunt Emma that night. ''I shouldn't have left him alone,'' she thinks. ''How could I be so stupid?'' She walks towards her son's bedroom and doesn't leave his side for the rest of the night.

* * *

**This time the focus was more on the Charming's. Hope you all liked it :) Please leave a comment, I would really appreciate it! :)**


	6. The Good, the Bad and the Cursed

**Happy New Year everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded anything earlier, but life has been busy lately ;) Thanks again for all the reads, reviews and follows, I really appreciate all your support! :)**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile **

* * *

**********The Good, the Bad and the Cursed**

Emma is startled by three short knocks on the door. She looks at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bed and sighs. Man, it's 2:48AM, who would need her at this time of the night? Groaning she stretches her muscles and gets up. She quickly takes her robe from the chair and puts it on.

When she leaves her bedroom she sees Henry coming out of his room and following her. ''Stay in bed please Henry,'' she says. But she knows better than that. Of course he wouldn't just stay in bed like she asked him to.

Henry is all-in for some middle-in-the-night-adventure, but grabs his moms hand when they enter the living room.

When Emma opens the door, she sees two exhausted girls standing in her doorway; one with tears running all over her face and the other expressing a desperate countenance.

''Ruby, Belle, what's wrong?'' asks Emma. ''Come in, sit down,'' she says to both as she leads Belle gently to the couch.

The girl is a mess sees Emma. ''Henry, can you get Belle a glass of water?'' she asks her son.

Red is still standing in the middle of the living room. ''I'm sorry Emma, I had no idea what else to do, we drove around for hours and…''

''Ok calm down everyone,'' says Emma in a business-like tone. ''What happened?''

Henry comes back with a glass of water and gives it to Belle. The brunette's hands are shaking so bad that she spills some water on the floor.

''I, I… he wasn't home and, and…'' sobs Belle. She's stumbling over her words. ''So, so, I called Red and, and…''

Red lays a soothing hand on her friends arm. ''Would you like me to tell her what happened?'' she asks.

Belle nods, not able to say another word without bursting into tears.

''When Belle came home from her work at the library last night, her boyfriend, Rumplestiltskin… wasn't home. He normally always is or he would leave a note or something,'' explains Red.

The name 'Rumplestiltskin' sends shivers up Emma's spine. But she tries to look as interested and worried as possible.

Ruby continues. ''So she called to his shop, but he wasn't there either. Then she called me and I told her to wait for a few hours, that he would probably be doing some business or something and would come home right after. But when he didn't...'' Ruby glances at Belle. ''…we went looking for him.''

''When did you start your search?'' asks Emma.

''I think it was about 10:30PM when we start searching for him, right Belle?''

Belle nods.

''Yeah, so we drove all around town to look for him, but we really couldn't find him. That's when I thought it would be best to go to you, as you're the sheriff and all…''

''Ok,'' says Emma, ''did Mr Gold, I mean… did Rumpelstiltskin, say something that implied that he was not coming home tonight?'' she asks Belle.

Belle shakes her head.

''The smallest details can help here. Did he say something to you, whether you think it might not even be worth mentioning?''

''I, I don't think so… I mean, he was a bit distant lately. But I don't think he said something, something that would mean that he, he wouldn't come home…''stutters Belle. She can't tell sheriff Swan about Rumple's confession that he made that morning. She promised him he could trust her. Telling would damage his trust and Belle was sure he would never forgive her that.

''Distant, in what way?'' asks Emma.

''Well, when he wasn't in his shop he would be downstairs in the basement, working on his… his spinning wheel,'' says Belle. ''I almost didn't see him upstairs anymore.''

Emma didn't like the sound of that. ''Do you know if he was.. if he was using magic?'' she asks Belle carefully.

''NO!'' Belle cries out. And then softer: ''I mean, no, he would never do that. He made a promise to me to not use magic ever again. And I trust him.''

Emma decides to give Belle the benefit of the doubt. As she read in Henry's book, Belle and Rumplestiltskin really do love each other, how strange it might sound. ''I've just met these women in real-life but it feels like I know these people all so well, only because of that book,'' Emma thinks when she looks at Belle and Ruby in front of her.

''It's too late now to do anything, not to mention too dark to search further,'' Emma says. ''Let's continue when it's light outside. If you want, you can stay here with us Belle?''

''Thanks sheriff Swan,'' answers Belle with a grateful look. She can't think of being alone in Rumple's house in the woods right now.

''Please, call me Emma, and it's not a problem.'' She turns to Ruby and says to her: ''we'll meet you tomorrow morning at 8:00AM at Granny's? It will be light by then and we can continue the search.''

''Ok, I'll see you then,'' agrees Red. To Belle she says: ''you'll be fine here with Emma and Henry. Emma is Snow's daughter and I don't know anyone who can be trusted more than her.''

Emma looks up surprised. So the relationship between her mother and _Red _goes deeper than she thought. She makes a mental note to look into that later.

''But what if he comes home and I'm not there?'' says Belle suddenly frightened.

''I'll quickly drive by your house and leave him a note that you're here, ok?'' says Red.

''Thanks Red, sorry for dragging you into all of this…'' says Belle.

''That's what friends are for right?'' smiles Red and she gives her friend a hug. ''Hang in there ok? And I'll see you tomorrow.''

When Red has left, Emma gets some pillows and blankets from the closet in her room. ''Here you go,'' she says when she gives it all to Belle.

''Thanks Emma, sorry for all the trouble,'' says Belle.

''Ok Belle, now I want you to stop say 'sorry' all the time. It's perfectly normal that you're worried and as Ruby just said, I'm the sheriff and it's my job to find missing persons.''

''Yes I know, but I also know that Rumple didn't treat you and your family right… I would understand if you don't want to help me find him. And I can tell you about his other side, the side he only shows to me, but I don't think you would ever believe me…''

''Listen Belle, whether I like the man or not, is of no importance. I'm just doing my job here.'' Emma knew this was the right thing to say, but obviously it wasn't that easy for her at all. ''Try to get some sleep, you'll need it,'' she continues.

Belle nods and lies down. She pulls the sheets high up to her chin and holds it firmly in her two hands. ''Did he say something?'' had Emma asked her. Of course he said something. Something major. But she can't tell anyone, she just can't. Maybe it even didn't have anything to do with Rumple's disappearance…? Doubtful, she has to admit. O God, what if he was looking for his son and crossed the town line? He would have no memories of his life as Rumple, just of his life as Mr Gold. He wouldn't even remember her! Belle's blood chills.

But he knew that that would happen when he would cross the town lines, so he could never? Could he? Would the pain be too much for him and did he see crossing the town lines as his only way out? The only way to ease the pain over the loss of his son? Just forget everything? Including her?!

Belle tossed and turned on the couch and there was just no way that she was ever to fall asleep that night.

* * *

After Emma switched off the light in the living room she walks to Henry's room.

Henry went back to bed right after he gave the glass of water to Belle. He left his door slightly open, just enough to hear everything that was being said in the living room.

When he hears his mother coming in, he pretends to be asleep.

''You don't have to pretend for me Henry, I know you're still awake,'' grins Emma.

Henry opens his eyes and looks a bit surprised. This trick always worked on Regina. ''Can I come tomorrow to search for Rumplestiltskin?'' he asks.

''No, you're just going to school tomorrow.''

'''But…''

''No Henry, you're just going to school and that's it, I don't want to hear anything more,'' says Emma. She's trying to say it with a stern voice.

Henry lets himself fall back onto his pillow. ''Ok than…'' he gives in. ''Goodnight mom.''

''Goodnight Henry,'' says Emma and she rans a hand through her son's hair.

As soon as his mother leaves his room, Henry's thoughts go back to a few nights before, the night when he followed Neal and saw him at Rumple's house. Where were Belle and Rumple then and what was Neal doing there? It was if he was looking for something…

Henry knows that it's better to tell his mom about what he had seen, but he doesn't want to endanger Operation Charlie. He decides to keep silent about it for now. ''I mean, it's the Dark One, what could happen to the most dangerous man there is?'' ponders Henry. But actually he's not really sure about it.

* * *

The next morning a small group has gathered at Granny's bed & breakfast. Emma, Belle, Red, Snow and Charming are discussing the course of action for the search. Emma called her parents that morning to help.

''We should split up,'' says Emma. ''Ruby, you take Belle with you, Mary Margaret, I'll go with you and David can you go alone?''

Everyone agrees.

''Red, can't you use your wolf instincts to look for Rumple?'' asks Snow.

''I've tried that yesterday as well, but it's like there is no trail of him at all,'' answers Red sadly. ''I can't sense him anywhere.''

Belle looks shocked. Red hadn't told her this yesterday.

''Well, just keep trying,'' says Snow quickly.

''Of course,'' answers Red. ''Belle and I will search in the forest,'' she continues.

''I'll take a look in your house and Rumple's shop,'' Charming says. ''Maybe there is something which indicates where he went.''

''Than Mary Margaret and I will cover the rest of the town,'' says Emma. ''Let's meet back here in an hour. If you find something in the meantime, give the rest of us a call.''

Snow looks at Belle. The girl is as pale as a ghost and her eyes are red. ''Ok, let's do this!'' she then says.

Emma pulls her hat tighter over her head and the group splits up.

Snow has fallen overnight and a thick layer of whiteness covers the town. ''Normally I would enjoy this view,'' thinks Snow, ''but today it doesn't mean anything to me. Strange how things stop to impress you once something more drastic happens in your life.''

Mother and daughter are focused on the task at hand and don't say anything for a long time. They ring several doorbells and ask people if they've seen Rumplestiltskin.

The reaction of the respondents is almost always the same: either they slam the door in Snow's and Emma's faces when they hear Rumple's name or they simply stare in astonishment at the two ladies at the door. Only Archie seems to be sincerely worried, but he hasn't seen Rumple.

''That's why I didn't want Belle and Ruby to search the town, as this must be so frustrating for Belle,'' says Emma.

''I understand…'' says Snow as yet another door is being slammed in their faces.

''Mary Margaret…'' starts Emma when they walk towards Storybrooke's main street.

''Yes?''

''Have you, I mean, do you ever think back about what happened in the enchanted forest when we were there?'' asks Emma carefully.

''Yes of course, it's not something I can easily erase from my memories. Why?''

''I don't know… I just, I've these dreams and…''

Snow glances worried at her daughter. ''What are your dreams about?''

''It's just about everything we've been through, but instead of surviving everything like we did, I see myself being killed. Like for example when that ogre attacked me, in my dreams you weren't there to kill it and instead, it killed me. Or the time when Mulan wanted to cut down the beanstalk, in my dream she succeeded before I got down and I fell off ending up dead. These kind of things.''

''O my, Emma, I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something to help you.''

''No it's fine, I mean, I've had nightmares before, but these ones give me major headaches in the morning. I was wondering if you've ever had the same? ''

''No I haven't, but this doesn't sound good Emma. You have to let me know if these dreams continue ok?''

''Just forget that I said it, it's probably nothing,'' says Emma. ''Let's go to the next house…''

At that moment, Emma's phone rings.

''Hello...?'' she answers. ''What?!... Yeah, we'll be right there!''

''What's wrong?'' asks Snow as she sees her daughter's anxious look.

''Someone broke into Mr Gold's pawn shop,'' says Emma.

* * *

When Emma and Snow arrive at the shop, Charming is waiting for them. ''Looks like someone really expressed some deep hate against Rumplestiltskin…'' he says.

''That's quite an understatement,'' says Emma as she looks at the ravage that the perpetrator had left.

The whole shop is filled with glass and all the displays were shattered into millions of pieces. Items are scattered around like confetti and the wall looks like it has been covered with some sort of green slime.

''What the hell happened here?!'' asks Emma bewildered.

They all try to touch as little as possible, in order to leave any possible evidence intact.

''I just found it like this when I came back from Rumple's house. Look,'' Charming says as he leads his wife and daughter to the back, ''the backdoor is forced, that is how he must have come in.''

Alarmed, the three of them look around as they here a hellish scream coming from the front.

* * *

**That was it for today. Hope you liked it. Please leave a comment, I LOVE feedback :) And, sorry for my English. I'm not a native speaker as you might've noticed ;) I'm trying to do the best I can**


	7. Love Hurts

**Wow, what did you guys think of the Cricket Game last night? I loved it! **

**Thanks everyone once again for your kind words! It's great working on this story! **

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Love Hurts**

''Baelfire, wake up!''

''What?'' asks Baelfire disorientated. His eyes are still closed and it takes a while before the memories of the day before hit him. The hat, the portal, his meeting with the Lost Boys, their stories and… his father. It's all coming back like a blow with the hammer.

''Baelfire, wake up!'' he hears again, more compelling this time.

Can't he just stay here, with his eyes closed for eternity? That would make matters so much easier. But he knows that he has to wake up. Slowly, he opens his eyes.

Baelfire looks straight into the face of Skunk. ''Well good morning sleepyhead. You're even more difficult to wake than Rabbit. And that says a lot, believe me,'' Skunk adds laughing.

''Where are the others?'' asks Baelfire as he looks around.

''They're already getting their things together,'' answers Skunk. ''We'll be leaving in half an hour.''

''Where are we going?''

''To the Jolly Roger of course,'' says Skunk. ''Captain Hook's ship,'' he adds when he sees Baelfire's questioning gaze.

''Right, so I'll be meeting Captain Hook than?'' asks Baelfire.

''Yeah of course you will,'' says Skunk, ''it's his ship.'' He gives Baelfire a funny look. ''So, what're you waiting for? Come on!''

''Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there,'' says Baelfire.

''Can you help me get rid of the branches and straw? Nobody can know that we were here.''

''Why not?'' asks Baelfire.

''Just because,'' answers Skunk. ''Don't ask so many questions.''

Baelfire doesn't like this answer, but does what is asked.

After everything is cleaned up and no more traces of the Lost Boys can be found, the two leave to catch up with the others.

A short walk later, they see a large ship looming up from the sea. It has three massive masts and five canons on each side. The red-with-white striped sails are waving proudly.

Coming closer, Baelfire spots someone standing behind the helm. The man wears a black leather jacket with a high collar and has a rough beard and whiskers. But that's not what attracts Baelfire's attention. His eyes get caught on the enormous hook that sticks out of the captain's sleeve, where normally a hand would be. Suddenly the boy understands where the name 'Captain Hook' comes from.

''Hi captain!'' shouts Skunk.

The other boys are waiting on the beach.

''We've a new member,'' Skunk continues. ''This is Baelfire.''

Hook looks suspicious. Then, he gets to the prow of the ship and jumps on the sandy beach. He walks towards the Lost Boys.

Suddenly, his eyes start to glow. He finally recognizes the new boy who is standing in front of him.

But that can't be… This is Milah's boy! Hook saw the kid in the tavern years ago when Rumplestiltskin was looking for his wife. The memory of that horrible, filthy crocodile gives him an awful taste in the mouth.

As opposed to Hook, Baelfire has no idea who is standing in front of him. He was too little to remember the short encounter he had with the captain. He is waiting for Hook to say something.

''So Baelfire is your name?'' asks Hook.

''Yes Sir.''

''It's Captain,'' says Hook.

''Sorry, yes… Captain,'' apologizes Baelfire.

''Well, welcome on board, Baelfire!'' says Hook. ''Prepare yourself for a bumpy ride, there's storm at sea.''

Hook's eyes follow Baelfire as he and the boys get on board. Milah's son is the new Lost Boy and Rumple's nowhere in sight, can this day be any more perfect?

* * *

In Storybrooke, Regina is working in the garden as she hears a sound behind her. Startled she turns to see where the noise is coming from. She doesn't gets it immediately until a dark-haired man appears from behind the rhododendrons. '' Mr Cassady, you scared me,'' she says.

''O, I'm sorry I didn't mean to,'' Neal says. ''It was just, you didn't open the front door when I rang and I saw your car standing out front, so I figured you must be home.''

''Don't worry about it,'' says Regina reserved. ''What can I do for you?''

''Well word goes that you're Henry's mother, adoptive mother that is.'' Neal finds it difficult to continue. ''And I'm, I'm…''

''Henry's biological father,'' Regina finishes his sentence. She doesn't like the direction this conversation is heading.

''Exactly, but how did you figure…?''

''I'm the mayor of this town, Cassady, there is nothing I'm not aware of around here,'' answers Regina.

''Of course…'' says Neal. If she only knew, he thinks.

''Can you get to the point? I'm quite busy,'' says Regina annoyed.

''Certainly. What I was wondering is if there would be any possibility of some sort of a visitation arrangement so that I can get the chance to get to know Henry? I don't mean to intrude in any way, but I would really like to get to know him, as his father.''

''Absolutely not,'' is the short, but powerful answer. ''I know your kind and there is no way that you're allowed anywhere near my son.''

''But you don't understand,'' says Neal desperately. ''I've changed, I'm not the person anymore I used to be. You have to believe that!''

''Now you've to listen very carefully,'' says Regina narrowing her eyes, ''under no circumstance you're allowed anywhere near Henry. If you do violate this rule I'll make sure to put out a restraining order, banning you from Storybrooke. Do you understand?''

''Yes madam,'' answers Neal.

''And don't think I won't know if you do violate this rule, because I've eyes everywhere Cassady, remember that.''

Unable to say another word, Neal turns around and leaves the mayor's garden.

Once back on the street, with no-one looking, Neal's features start to change. A dark purple cloud surrounds him and when the smoke has cleared, a woman's face appears.

Cora smiles. The long-awaited reunion with her daughter had just take place, without Regina even knowing who was standing in front of her. It did feel good to distress Regina. She had to wait years for this moment. But if Regina thought this was the end of it, she was wrong. So very wrong. In fact, Cora was just getting started. Regina's life here in Storybrooke has been a piece of cake compared to what awaits her. ''We're going to have so much fun!'' thinks Cora.

* * *

Regina finished gardening, and has placed all the gardening equipment in the shed.

The nerves that man has… Just asking for visitation rights with such a history. He should've known better than to just waltz in here taking up against her, the mayor, the Evil Queen for god's sake. The brutality. It's worse enough not having Henry here due to that awful descendant of Snow and Charming. ''No, it's enough. I'm done playing good girl. It must stop, I'm not letting myself being pushed around anymore,'' thinks Regina angrily. She is washing her hands in the sink when the phone starts to ring.

''Yeah?!'' she shouts in the horn when she picks up.

''Regina? This is Emma. I was wondering if you could pick up Henry from school? Something came up and I'm not able to pick him up myself.''

Great, just what she needed: small talk with Emma Swan. ''Miss Swan,'' as Regina still calls Emma, ''I really don't like the fact that you only ask me to pick up Henry as you pleases. I do have a very busy life and last time I heard, I wasn't even allowed to have my son here at home. You can't always get things your way.''

''Ok fine Regina, I'm sure Archie will be more than willing to pick up Henry and take him home.'' Emma knows saying this would have the desired effect.

''You're lucky I took the afternoon off miss Swan. But let me make myself very clear to you, it's not intended to just assume that since I'm Henry's mother, I can always be there when you need me to. You've decided to take up the parent role, so you should start acting like one. That also includes adjusting your planning to your son's schedule.''

It's like Emma didn't hear that last comment. ''Great, so you'll pick up Henry? I'll pick him up at your place as soon as I'm done here.'' Emma hangs up before Regina is able to reply.

''What can she be so busy with?'' wonders Regina when she lays down the phone.

* * *

When Henry sees Regina standing in front of the school he is worried. ''Hey mom, where's Emma?'' he therefore asks.

''She had some other business to take care off, that's why I'm picking you up today. Are you not happy to see me?''

''Yes I am, I was just wondering where Emma is,'' says Henry hesitantly.

''Don't worry, she will pick you up when she's finished at the sheriffs' office.''

''Did they already find Mr Gold?'' asks Henry when they walk to Regina's car.

''Sorry, what?'' asks Regina unaware.

Henry bites his tongue. His mother apparently hadn't heard yet… How could he be such a fool.

''Henry, what's with Mr Gold?'' asks Regina persistently.

Henry knows he has to tell his mother about Belle and Red, and what they had told him and Emma last night.

When he's finished, Regina is furious. How could that little blond not have told her about this? Regina is almost able to get in the car, drive to the sheriff's station and tell that pedantic snob the truth about how she feels about her. But then she looks at Henry. There is just no way she can apostatize his mother with him around. That would mean she would lose him all over again, just when their relationship is starting to improve. She sighs and says: ''get in the car Henry, we're going home.''

* * *

Despite of all the irritations Regina had to face that day, her time with Henry was a bless. Together they baked chocolate chip cookies, Henry's favorite, and watched a movie. Henry even stayed for dinner, as his mom still wasn't there to pick him up.

''Don't you miss it here?'' asks Regina carefully when they're at the dining table.

''Sometimes, I guess…'' answers Henry. He's not sure why his mother asked him this question.

''Well I certainly do,'' says Regina. ''I miss having you around here, it's so quiet now.''

''I guess I could come over more often if you would like that?'' asks Henry.

''Would you do that?'' a smile appears on Regina's face. ''I mean, only if you want to of course,'' she adds.

''Yeah sure, you're still my mom,'' answers Henry. ''And I really liked hanging around with you today. Somehow it was different … You're really trying your best aren't you?''

Regina is touched by Henry's kind words. ''I'm glad you had a good time today Henry. And you're right, I'm really trying to change. And I know that what I did before cannot be justified, but I hope you can give me one more chance?''

At that moment, the doorbell rings.

'''Saved by the bell,'' Regina thinks sarcastically. ''Henry I think it's your mom, can you get your homework and backpack from your room? I'll let your mom in.''

''Miss Swan, can you finally tell me what the hell is going on with Mr Gold?'' is Regina's welcome to Emma.

''Henry told you?'' asks Emma.

''Yes, and I think it's more than appropriate for you to brief me on such important matters.''

''Yeah, well since it is such an important matter, I felt like not losing too much time briefing everyone,'' is Emma's response.

''I'm not everyone, am I Miss Swan?''

Emma is too tired to start a discussion with Regina. ''Well, the latest news is that someone broke into Mr Gold's shop. We spent the whole day searching for him and only found the pawn shop totally demolished. But the strange thing is, as far as we can see now, nothing was stolen. However, we couldn't get hold of a complete inventory list of the shop, so we're not sure yet if nothing is missing.''

''Did you already conducted a neighborhood investigation?'' asks Regina.

''Yes, of course, that was the first thing that we did. But Mr Gold is not really town's favorite… to put it mildly. We can't expect much help from Storybrooke's citizens. I don't even want to think about the list of suspects, which is endless. Everyone hates that man.''

Henry comes down the stairs into the large entrance hall. ''Hey mom!'' He let himself fall in Emma's arms.

''Hey kid!'' answers Emma kind of surprised as she returns the hug. ''You've got everything?''

''Yep.''

''Great, so let's go. Thanks Regina for watching him.''

''Anytime,'' answers Regina softly. She watches Emma and Henry getting in Emma's yellow bug. A sad feeling overwhelms her as she realizes it will not be easy to get her son back, maybe even impossible. Something dies inside of her.

* * *

**I'm almost feeling sorry for Regina. What about you? **

**As always, I would greatly appreciate your feedback :) **


	8. Sympathy for the Demon

**Thanks for your kind words, follows and favorites! **

**Here we go again! ;)**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**********Sympathy for the Demon**

When Charming, Snow and Emma path their way to the front of Mr Gold's shop, where the loud scream came from, they see a shocked Red and Belle standing in the doorpost. Belle looks if she's going to faint.

''What happened here?!'' cries Red. Perplexed she looks around.

''I thought we agreed on meeting in an hour back at Granny's?'' asks Charming, not happy with Belle having here. This was too much for the girl to bear.

''I couldn't stop her,'' answers Red. ''She felt we had to go back to the shop. The bond between her and Rumplestiltskin must be very strong, I've no other explanation for her feeling that something was wrong here,'' she says astonished.

In the meantime Snow walked towards Belle and now lays a hand on her shoulder, pushing the girl gently outside. ''Come on Belle,'' she says, ''let's go somewhere else.''

''But I've to go back there, I've to find Rumplestiltskin!'' cries Belle as tears are running down her face. She tries to pull back, but Snow is holding her firmly.

''Charming and Emma are all over it, they will find him Belle, I promise. There is nothing we can do here. We'll have to let them do their job.''

Finally Belle gives in and lets Snow lead her away from the shop.

Back inside, the three remaining people try to find their way through the havoc.

''Who did this?'' asks Red bewildered.

''We don't know yet, but I'm determined to figure that out,'' says Emma. ''The problem is that Gold's list of enemies is countless. When Mary Margaret and I went door-to-door earlier, no-one was willing to provide us any information at all.''

''What I do know is that this must have been planned well,'' says Charming.

''That makes sense,'' agrees Emma. ''The person who did this has had months to plan, from the moment that the curse was broken and magic returned.''

''Who would've ever thought that it was possible to kidnap Rumple and destroy his shop like this? And who hold such a grudge against Rumple that he would take the risk of confronting him? It's the most dangerous and tricky person there is,'' says Charming.

''I'm not sure about that anymore…'' says Emma when she thinks about Cora in the enchanted forest. That woman really creeped her out. ''But here in Storybrooke, I agree that Rumple is the most scary of them all,'' Emma nods.

''For all we know it can be any of us who did this… It might be even one of you!'' says Red in a light tone, trying to cheer up the depressed atmosphere hanging in the air.

But Charming and Emma can't laugh at the joke.

''You'll might have a point there Ruby,'' says Emma. ''I mean, not that we did it, but people can think that we did it. Rumple is the one who made the curse for Regina and who set this all into motion. If he wouldn't have brought magic back and sent that Wraith into this world, Snow and I wouldn't have been sucked into that portal. And when we were trying to return through the well, he was the one who tried to kill us. We have plenty of motives to want to harm him.''

''O sorry, no I didn't mean it that way!'' says Red. ''It was just a joke. You didn't think I would really suspect you of something like this? ''

''No of course not Red, but we have to take into account that this is what people can suspect,'' says Charming.

''But this man hurt so many people, it still can be anyone,'' says Ruby.

'' Let we just focus now on the facts rather than on suspicions people might have,'' says Emma. ''Did you find anything in the forest Red?''

''No we didn't unfortunately. There really is no trace of Rumple whatsoever. I can't sense him anywhere. It's like his trails are removed or something.''

''I also couldn't find anything in his house when I was there,'' says Charming. ''The man has a remarkable collection of jars and bottles in his basement though. Together with his spinning wheel. I'm not sure what his intentions are with that.''

Emma casts a troubled glance at the mess around her. ''We need Belle to determine if something is missing here,'' she says. ''I hope she is up for it.''

''Let's go eat something first at Granny's and give Belle some more time to calm down,'' offers Charming.

Emma and Red agree and the three of them head for the diner.

* * *

Snow is doing the best she can to calm down Belle, who is sitting all desolate across the table.

Granny's normally is a bustling place, but on this wintery day, it seems like no-one dares to come out of their houses. The grey wallpaper with pine tree-print seems more mirthless than ever and the red diner booths are covered with dark shadows, even though the lights are on.

''Not the best place today to take a friend who's feeling desperate,'' Snow thinks when she looks around.

''I just should've come home earlier. I always get so distracted when I'm opening a book at the library. Maybe if I was home sooner I could've helped him and…''

''Belle, stop!'' demands Snow as she holds her friends' hands. ''There is no point in blaming yourself. Whoever did this was well-prepared and there is nothing that you could've done to prevent this.''

Snow's words do not get through to Belle. It's like she's locked inside her own world. She gazes unseeingly in front of her.

At that moment, Red, Charming and Emma enter the diner. Snow meets them halfway.

''How's she?'' asks Red, looking concerned at Belle.

''She's at her wits' end and only blaming herself for what happened. I can't get through to her,'' answers Snow. She's as worried about Belle as Red is. ''What else did you guys find out?''

''In a word… nothing,'' says Emma. ''We need Belle to come with us to see if something's missing from the pawn shop. She's our best chance.''

''I'm not sure if she's up for that…'' says Snow quietly. Her voice is not more than a soft whisper.

Granny walks towards her friends. ''Is everything all right? Can I get you something?''

''It's fine Granny, I'll prepare us something to eat,'' says Red. ''What can I get you guys?'' she asks as she takes everyone's order.

''Hi Belle,'' says Emma as she sits down. ''How 're you hanging in there?''

Belle keeps staring in front of her and doesn't say anything.

''We're trying to do everything to find Rumplestiltskin and we're going to find him, you can be sure of that.'' Emma tries to get through to Belle.

Red comes back with their plates. ''Here you go,'' she says as she puts the plates on the table. For Belle she made her favorite sandwich, hoping to get her friend to eat something.

But as the rest enjoy their lunch, Belle leaves her plate untouched and still seems to be in her own world.

''I'm going to call Regina to ask her if she can pick up Henry today from school,'' says Emma.

''Regina? 're you sure?'' asks Snow.

''Yeah, well, it's still his mom and she's the one who saved us when we got back remember?''

''If you want, I can pick him up from school?'' asks Snow, not yet convinced about Emma's plan.

''No, I need you to help us find Mr Gold. The more people helping, the better. And we can't hope for any help from the other citizens.''

''But what if she's asking you questions about Rumple's disappearance? Her interference will only slow us down,'' argues Snow.

''Yeah I know, but she'll find out sooner or later. I'll just try to talk around the subject now and deal with her later.''

Emma excuses herself and walks outside to make the call to Regina.

''Ok, am I the only one who doesn't like the idea of Henry being with Regina?'' asks Snow when she looks to Charming and Red.

''I don't like it either Snow, but Emma is Henry's mother and if she thinks this is the best solution, than we can't do anything against it. We've to trust her,'' answers Charming.

''I guess…'' says Snow.

It's quiet for a couple of minutes.

''THAT MAN!'' cries Belle all of a sudden. ''THAT MAN!'' she calls out again.

''Honey, what man are you talking about?'' asks Red, startled by her friend's sudden outburst.

Emma walks back in.

''I totally forgot about him. There was a man. In a car. When I walked home the other night. He said he was an old friend of Rumplestiltskin and he wanted to visit him, but Rumple wasn't home. I had to say 'hi' from him. I've never seen him before and Rumple never mentioned him, I'm sure of that.'' Belle stutters slightly as she's explaining the others what she'd experienced.

''Do you remember this guy's name?'' asks Charming.

''Neal, I think,'' answers Belle doubtfully. ''Yeah, now I remember! He said his name was Neal Cassady.''

Emma almost drops her cellphone on the floor and Snow and Charming look at their daughter in terror.

* * *

_The evening before…_

When Rumplestiltskin comes home from the shop he sees that Belle isn't there yet. ''She must be swallowed by all the books she works with,'' Rumplestiltskin thinks amusingly.

The library is like heaven for Belle. Often she brings books back home to read and he finds them everywhere in the house. He loves that little obsession of her.

As Belle isn't home yet, Rumplestiltskin walks directly to the basement. He almost trips over 'A Tale of Two Cities,' the Charles Dickens novel, that lies on the stairs. He picks it up and places it on the kitchen table.

He has to find out if this Neal-guy is his son. ''And I'll not be tricked again,'' he thinks when his memories go back to the day that August let him believe that he was Rumplestiltskin's son. ''I cannot make the same mistake as then. I need to be prepared this time.''

He has been working on a truth-serum over the last week. ''And soon, I've created enough magic to actually make it.''

The other key ingredient of the serum is a hair of 'an honest person.' Never was creating a potion so easy for Rumplestiltskin. He got a hair from Belle's hairbrush, as she is the most sincere person he knows.

After another hour of spinning the wheel, he has created enough magic for the serum. Gently, he puts the hair in a vial and adds the magic gold. Immediately, the substance starts to smoke and turn blue. ''Perfect,'' says Rumplestiltskin out loud.

He's slightly startled as the doorbell rings.

He hides the serum vial in his pocket and walks up the stairs to open the door.

He cannot believe who he sees when he looks through the peeping hole. He´s never seen this man before, so this must be Neal!

''Hello,'' he only says when he opens the door.

''Hi,'' the man on the other side of the door replies. ''I'm very sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you maybe have jumper cables here? I was taking a ride in the forest and suddenly the car battery died on me.''

''I think I have some in the back,'' says Rumplestiltskin. ''Why don't you come inside? The weather is horrible out there. Not really the best conditions for a ride in the forest I would imagine?''

That's really kind, thank you,'' answers Neal as he follows Rumplestiltskin to the living room. ''I thought it wasn't that bad when I left the bed & breakfast earlier, but I realize now that I've made a mistake getting out there with this weather.''

''You're staying at Granny's?'' asks Rumplestiltskin.

''Yes, and I'm the only one it seems. Storybrooke isn't really touristic is it?'' answers Neal and he laughs.

''Please take a seat, I'll find the jumper cables for you. Give me just a minute. By the way, can I get you something to drink while you're waiting?'' asks Rumplestiltskin.

''No, I'm fine, thanks.''

''But I've this really great wine, a Bordeaux from '82, excellent year. I wanted to drink it with my wife, but she isn't home yet so why would we waste such a decent bottle?''

''No, really, I'm good,'' is Neal's answer. He would never drink something at Rumplestiltskin´s house. He knows better by now.

´´If I really can´t get you anything, I´ll be right back,´´ says Rumplestiltskin and he walks to the back of the house.

´´Patience, I just have to have patience,´´ Rumplestiltskin thinks. Normally that wouldn´t be a problem for him at all, but now when it concerns the man who might be his son… ´´I just need to make some more small talk with him and hope that we´ll see each other another time so that I can slip the serum into his drink. I can't screw this up.´´ The truth-serum is still in his pocket.

What also strikes Rumplestiltskin is the fact that Neal came to his house tonight. The touristic trip in the forest was the lousiest excuse he´d ever heard. That can´t be the reason why he´s visiting.

´´Found them!´´ Rumplestiltstkin calls out when he´s walking back to the living room with the jumper cables in his hand.

´´Perfect, thanks so much man!´´ says Neal.

''So, let us walk to our cars and see if we can start yours shall we?'' asks Rumplestiltskin.

Neal follows Rumplestiltskin outside. ''Actually, I've got a question for you first,'' he says. In a flash, he takes a thick rope from his jacket pocket and wraps it around Rumplestiltskin's neck.

As soon as Rumplestiltskin feels the rope surrounding his neck, his hands reach for it.

But Neal is standing behind him and pulls both ends of the rope as hard as he can. ''My question to you is, _father_, how much have you really changed?'' Neal pulls and pulls and uses all the strength he has within him.

Soon, Rumplestiltskin's grip on the rope weakens and he makes choking sounds. ''I'm...sorry!'' he manages to bring out scraping.

''A little bit too late for that don't you think?'' says Neal, his teeth clenching.

Rumplestiltskin makes some last choking sounds and then loses consciousness.

Neal holds the rope for a few seconds longer to make sure Rumplestiltskin is really unconscious and then lets go. No way that this man is dying on him so easily. No, he needs to suffer first.

Neal takes Rumplestiltkin's legs and drags him over the ground to his rental car. Quickly, he pulls the man into the trunk and uses the rope to tie him up. He uses an old cloth to cover Rumplestiltskin's mouth. Then, he wipes out the drag marks and his shoeprints on the ground and gets inside his car.

Only a few hundred meters away, he sees Belle. He saw some pictures of the two lovebirds together when he was inspecting their house a few nights earlier.

''Crap...'' he thinks. Shall he just pass without stopping? But she's seen his car already. Well whatever. At the time Belle figures out that Rumplestiltskin's missing, Neal be in their hiding place long since. And they'll connect him with the disappearance now anyway, as the link between him and the rental car isn't so hard to make. ''I can better create some sort of alibi.''

Neal stops the car next to Belle. He opens his window. ''Well you must be Belle?! I've heard so much about you,'' he says with a big smile.

* * *

**So we finally figured out whap happened to Rumple. Well at least what happened the first minutes... ;) Thanks so much for reading! Hope to see your feedback :)**


	9. The Truth is out There, and it Hurts

**I'm so sorry for not updating any sooner, but it has been a hectic week.**

** Thanks again for all the follows, reviews and favorite's, your support is keeping me going! Special thanks to _AverytheOncer _for your reviews. Your enthusiasm really is contagious and keeps me motivated :) Special thanks also to _WeCanDoItTogether _for your inspiration and support! And last but not least, special thanks to a friend and colleague of mine who is not on FanFiction, but always reads the chapters and provides me with the necessary feedback. Thanks guys!**

**************DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**The Truth is out There, and it Hurts**

''Mom, what's wrong?'' asks Henry as he and Emma return home from Regina's house. He casts a worried look at his mother.

Emma has held the steering wheel so tightly, that her knuckles have turned white. It's like her big eyes spit fire and she hasn't said a word the whole way. ''Nothing,'' she only says.

But Henry doesn't stop looking at her.

Finally Emma turns her head to look at her son. ''Really Henry, it's nothing to worry about.''

But Henry doesn't let Emma get away with it so easily. ''Why haven't you and the others find Mr Gold yet?'' he continues.

''Because… it's complicated. But, we'll find him, it just takes some more time.'' Emma's focus is back on the road again.

Henry nods wisely like he totally gets it. ''But didn't you find anything? You know, like they do on TV, taking samples for DNO tests and stuff like that? Or fingerprints?''

A tiny smile appears on Emma's face. How she loves this kid. ''It's DN_A_, not DN_O. _

Henry looks humbled. ''I knew that…'' he says offended.

''I know,'' says Emma with a grin. ''But until now we didn't find anything like that.''

''That's strange, on these TV shows they _always _find something.´´

´´That´s why it´s called TV Henry. They make it look much easier in these shows than it´s in real life. They only have limited amount of time and they´ve to keep it exciting for people to watch.´´

Mother and son arrive at their apartment building.

When they get out of the car, Henry asks: ''will Belle stay at our place again tonight?''

''No, she will stay with Ruby for tonight.''

Emma turns the key in the lock of her apartment door and walks inside, Henry following her closely. She puts her keys on the kitchen table and turns around. What she sees then and there frightens her like never did anything before. Right in front of her, on the brick wall, is a written text. The text overwrites the original line: _Original Liquid & Paste Grate Polish Black Bird. _Now, blood red dripping lettering state: _He is mine. _

Henry is still unaware of the unsettling sentence on the wall as he walked straight to his room to do his homework.

Emma tries to stay as calm as possible. So someone got into her apartment and wrote this text on the wall. Was it written in paint or in… blood? No, she can't jump to conclusions before she knows for sure. What she does know for sure is that Henry can't stay here. Not now some crazy lunatic got into her apartment. What if he comes back?

She first starts checking if there are any signs indicating that there was a break-in. But just as last year, when she was trying to prove Mary Margaret's innocence, she can't find anything. A cold shiver runs up her spine. She doesn't feel comfortable staying here a minute longer. That's why she goes into Henry's room and says as normal she can: ''Henry, we've to go.''

''Why?'' the eleven-year-old asks as he's bent over a sheet with math problems.

''We're going to stay at your grandparents house for the night.'' Emma's already packing her son's backpack with his pyjamas, toiletries and an extra set of clothes. She grabs a sports bag from her own room and stuffs it with her own things.

''This is just ridiculous,'' she thinks. ''First Mr Gold is missing, then his shop is ransacked and now this. What the hell is happening here?!''

''Are you ready to go?'' she asks Henry.

''Yes, but…''

Emma doesn't let him finish. ''Okay than, let's go.'' Deliberately she walks on Henry's left side, just ahead of him, so that the boy's vision of the wall is blocked.

However, the letters are so bright and notable, that Henry still catches a glimpse of it. ''What's that?'' he asks as he's almost being pushed outside by his mother.

''That's nothing,'' she answers, ''just keep walking.''

But Henry being Henry, he quickly passes underneath Emma's arms, back into the apartment.

''Henry, no!'' yells Emma, but she's too late.

With a shocked expression on his face, the boy holds still before the daubed wall.

Emma is standing behind him. ''Henry…'' she says softly.

''Who did this?!'' he walks back a few steps in terror.

Emma puts her arms around her son. ''Come on, let's go,'' she says.

But Henry turns around and faces his mother. ''No Emma, who did this?!'' he cries.

Emma is surprised by the fact that Henry calls her by her name again. ''I have no idea,'' is her honest answer.

''Can we go to Gramps and Grams now?'' Henry asks, being his eleven-year-old-self again.

''Yes of course kid.''

* * *

''This is all so… weird,'' says Snow to Charming.

The two are sitting in their living room.

''I mean, what could possibly be the connection between Neal and Rumplestiltskin? Of course we don't know much about Neal, but what does this all mean?''

Charming looks doubting.

''What is it?'' Snow asks her husband.

''I was thinking… unless this is a sick plan made up by Rumple himself, who for whatever reason sought an ally in Neal, I don't have another explanation for all of this except that Neal is from our land, from the Enchanted Forest.''

''You really think that that's possible?'' asks Snow.

''Do you have another idea?''

''No…'' she says softly. ''But if what you're saying is true, Emma meeting Neal so many years ago can't be a coincidence either?''

''Does anything happen in our lives without a reason?'' grins Charming. But his face turns serious again as he thinks about it all. ''Neal must be a fairytale character, why else would it be possible for him to cross the town line? But what is his connection to Rumple? Nothing of it makes sense.''

There is no time to give the matter a serious thought, as the doorbell rings. The penetrating sound of it interrupts the quietness.

Snow's eyes snap to Charming as they both 're wondering the same thing: who can that be? Snow walks to the door to open it. Only one glimpse at her daughter and grandson is needed to understand the fact that something is very wrong.

Henry is slightly shaking and Emma's face is paler than ever. Her eyes panicky look back and forth between Snow and Henry.

''Emma, what's wrong?'' Snow asks concerned.

''Can we come in?'' Emma quietly asks.

''Of course, of course. Charming, can you come here for a sec?'' she asks her husband.

Charming walks over to his family.

''Something was written on our wall… in blood…'' says Henry and he starts shaking even worse. He leans against his mother.

Emma pulls her arms tighter around her son. ''Henry, we don't know if it was blood, it can also just be red paint, made look like if it was blood.''

''What?!'' asks Charming.

''When we came home earlier, I saw this sentence written on the apartment wall, saying: _He is mine,'' _explains Emma to her parents. ''It was painted in a red… substance. I checked for break-in signs, but couldn't find any. Who could do something like this?''

The four of them are still standing in the hall of the Charming's residence.

''Let's go inside and I make you some cocoa's,'' Snow suggests in an attempt to calm down Emma and Henry.

''Let me help you with that,'' says Emma. She turns to Henry and says: ''you go with your grandfather to the living room, okay kid? I'll be just next to you, in the kitchen with Mary Margaret.''

''Yeah come on Henry, I've some new comic books I'd like to show you,'' says Charming as he takes his grandson into the living room, trying to distract Henry from what he had witnessed earlier.

The two women head to the kitchen.

''Do you think it was Neal?'' asks Snow bluntly to Emma.

''I've thought about that too, but why would it be him? I mean, could he be so obsessed with Henry now he's seen him a few times that he would do something like this? I don't buy it. Neal isn't the fatherly-type at all. I know he did some things in the past I don't want to elaborate on right now, but this is just nothing like him. No, my money is on Regina, cause she's the one feeling like I stole her child.''

''But Emma, this is absolutely not Regina's style. I know her. I really don't believe that this is something that Regina would do. She would execute a more sophisticated plan. Besides, why would she scare Henry like this?''

''I don't know, but I know Neal and this is nothing for him to do either,'' Emma defends herself. ''It must be Regina. There were no signs of a break-in, so she must have used one of her skeleton keys to get in.''

''Don't be blind Emma!'' cries Snow. ''Look at the facts. All these strange things started to happen when Neal entered town; Belle has seen him coming from their house; Granny told us he checked out at the bed & breakfast yesterday, which is quite a coincedence, and now this. All the evidence points at him!''

Emma knows her mother is right. All the evidence does point at Neal. But she is just not ready yet to believe that Neal is actually capable of doing something like this. ''But he has no connection whatsoever with Rumplestiltskin, so how do you explain that?!'' replies Emma.

''But what if Neal is from the Enchanted Forest? What if he and Rumplestiltskin knew each other there and somehow Neal ended up in this world?''

''To do what exactly? Stop the Savior?'' asks Emma sarcastically. ''Well that plan failed big time didn't it? And what do you think he wants to accomplish with all of this than?''

''I'm just expressing my thoughts here Emma. It's the only explanation I can think of why he was able to enter Storybrooke. By the way, are you sure the text on the wall is about Henry?'' asks Snow.

''What else can it mean?''

''I don't know,'' admits Snow.

''What I want to do first thing tomorrow is check in what kind of substance the letters are written in. Then I will pay a visit to the Queen. She has some explaining to do.''

''You don't even know if it was her doing this Emma, and it's way too dangerous to confront her with accusations now she has her magic back.''

''I'm sure it's her. You can think whatever you want about her being too _sophisticated _for such actions, but I know that when it comes to Henry, she'll do anything to get him back. She's just desperate. And I don't know if you've noticed, but I've showed some magical tricks before, thank you very much. I'll be fine.''

''But you haven't learned yet how your powers work exactly…'' says Snow hesitantly.

''Well then I've less than a day to figure it out don't I? Do you know what I think? I think that there is not even a connection between the kidnapping of Mr Gold and the letters on the wall. That it are two separate cases.''

There is an uncomfortable silence in the kitchen. Emma holds the edges of the kitchen island firmly and looks down. Her heart is racing.

Snow's just watching her.

Finally, Emma turns her glance to Snow and sighs. ''Sorry Mary Margaret for snapping at you. I didn't mean to. I just hate this whole situation and I didn't want Henry to see the wall and he did and…''

''Ssst, it's okay Emma, you don't need to apologize. And if you're so sure about Neal, I believe you. You're right, I don't know him.''

For now, is it okay if Henry and I stay here for the night? I want Henry to feel protected,'' Emma asks softly. She doesn't tell her mother that she would also feel much better staying here with her parents, than being home right now.

''That speaks for itself,'' says Snow. She lays her hand on Emma's arm.

Emma pulls her arm away and takes the tray with four steaming cups of cocoa with cinnamon topping to the living room.

Snow sighs and follows her daughter to join the rest of the family.

* * *

Neal 's driving towards the harbor of Storybrooke, when he hears a soft groan coming from the trunk. He pulls over and gets out of the car. ''Luckily there always is a plan B,'' he thinks as he walks around his rental car. Quickly he looks around if no-one can see him and when he's sure, he opens the trunk. He smiles as he sees Rumplestiltskin tied up.

Laboriously Rumplestiltskin opens his eyes.

''Later tonight I want you to meet some of my friends, but for now I think it's time for you to take a nap,'' says Neal as he gets a bottle of chloroform out of his pocket and drips some drops on a handkerchief.

Rumplestiltskin twists and turns to free himself, but Neal has tied him up so tightly that there is no way for him to escape. He growls and tries to make noise, but the cloth in his mouth prevents him from making loud sounds.

''Just relax now, you're just going to take a little nap and when you wake up we're at a place where no-one can find you,'' says Neal grimly. He holds the handkerchief which is drenched in chloroform against Rumplestiltskin's nose and mouth until he passes out. ''Night, night papa,'' Neal says.

After driving another few minutes, they arrive at the harbor. It looks abandoned, but Neal knows where he has to be. He drives his car in front of the first quay and gets out. Again he looks if no-one followed him and then he walks on the quay. At the middle, he gets up an invisible staircase.

''Hook!'' he yells as he arrives on the stern of the captain's ship.

The captain with the leather trench coat and matching pants enters from the lower deck. ''Keep it down, will yah!'' he says as he sees Neal.

Neal ignores the comment. ''I've got something you're probably interested in…'' he says.

''What is it?'' asks Hook.

''I'll show it to you, but first, I want my reward for all the work I've done for you and Cora,'' answers Neal.

''No games Neal, just show it.''

''I can't, not until I've my reward.''

Within a split of a second, the captain stands behind Neal and points the sharp end of his hook on Neal's throat. ''What about this for a reward huh?''

In the meantime, Cora has entered the stern and observes the two men. ''Boys, boys, we're not in Neverland anymore, be nice to each other,'' she says.

Hook sniffs, but let's go of Neal.

''You know Neal, I'm getting a bit tired of you,'' says Cora. ''You were a great help, at first, but now you're taking matters in your own hands. I've to be honest… I don't like that…'' she says in a threatening tone of voice.

'''But you promised I would get my reward and I kept my word to help you.''

''Oh, but it's not that we're not grateful for what you did for us, it's just now you're taking it a little bit too far. For your own and our protection it might be better to keep you somewhere safe for now,'' grins Cora. She spreads her arms and Neal disappears in a purple haze.

''Where did you sent him?'' asks Hook.

''That's not important for now… Let's see what he brought us, shall we?'' says Cora.

The two of them walk to Neal's car and open the trunk.

What Hook sees there brings a smile upon his face. ''Long time no see Rumple,'' he says to the unconsciousness man. ''But the waiting has been worth it, I guarantee you that.''

* * *

**That's it for now. Hope you liked it. As always, please leave a review! Much appreciated**


	10. Someone to witch over me

**Thanks again for all of your follows, fav's and reviews! You're the best!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Someone to witch over me**

Hook is sleeping in the cabin of his ship. As a Captain behooves, it's obvious that he has the largest cabin at his disposal. Not only is there a real bed, there's also a leaning chair, closet and a writing desk. Maps are spread out across the table and an ancient globe shows all the parts of Neverland. Some souvenirs of their recent travels are used as decoration in the room, such as evil masks from the South-America part of Neverland and Asian dream catchers. Shark fins and tooth give the cabin a gloomy appearance.

In the meantime, Foxy is on the lookout at the helm and the other four Lost Boys are snoring in their bunks.

An annoying zooming sound suddenly wakes the captain from his REM sleep. He's never been a deep sleeper, always aware of sudden movements or threats. With his eyes still closed he tries to hit the insect that makes the irritating noise, but it's like the bug's playing hide-and-seek. As soon as Hook's hand comes close, the insect quickly moves away. And when the captain lays his hand back on the bed, the zooming sound becomes louder again.

Hook growls. Great, just what he needed, an annoying insect keeping him awake. Like this day wasn't tiresome enough.

Together with the Lost Boys, he had to shake off one of his long-time enemies: Captain Jack Sparrow.

''That nut job just started firing his canons for no reason,'' thinks Hook, as memories of earlier that day return to him. ''That guy must suffer from megalomania, acting like he owns these freaking oceans…'' Feelings of rage surface.

While most of the cannon shots missed the ship (''the guy can't even properly aim…''), one actually destroyed part of the mast, leaving the crew of Hook's ship spent the rest of the day fixing what could be fixed. Luckily, Hook's aims were much more effective and it didn't take long for Sparrow to take off.

The insect is still buzzing around. Suddenly, Hook realizes that the bug is _talking_ to him.

''Captain, captain?'' whispers the creature.

''But wait,'' thinks Hook, ''insects aren't supposed to talk.'' His eyes shoot open. ''Who are YOU?'' he asks as he sees what, or rather, _who, _is flying in front of him.

''Ssst… not so loud, you're going to wake the boys.''

''And that would be a bad thing because?'' Hook asks, quickly sitting straight up in his bed, with both of his feet over the edge.

''Because I need to discuss something with you that concerns one of your _Lost Boys_,'' the creature answers with extra emphasis on the name.

''Oh yeah, and what would that be? What could a _fairy_ possibly want from one of my crew members?''

''Let's say it's something in both of our interests.'' The Blue Fairy pauses to let her words sink in. ''Do you remember the day Baelfire joined your crew?'' she asks.

Like he could ever forget that day. ''Yes, and?''

''Do you think it was just a coincidence that he ended up here, with the Lost Boys, with _you?''_

The Fairy's tone aroused his interest. Hook never thought of that. But indeed, his meeting with Baelfire was something that was too specific to be a coincidence. He tries to hide his ignorance. ''Go on.''

''There have been rumors… At first we didn't realize what it meant. The only message we got was that Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin's son, (Hook's face shows signs of disgust when he hears the imp's name) is an important key in a major event. His destiny was to come here and join you and the Lost Boys. That was five years ago. Now, more information is given to us. The rumors start to take shape in reality.''

''What rumors?''

''Rumors about a curse, and a savior.''

Hook starts to lose his patience. ''Stop with the cryptic nonsense and just say what you have to say!''

''All right, all right,'' whispers the Blue Fairy. ''You're familiar with Evil Queen Regina?''

''I've heard of her…''

''Well the Evil Queen is planning on enacting a curse that will send everyone to a far-off land. The special thing about this land is that magic is non-existing there. When they're sent over there, everyone will lose their memories about who they are.''

''And what good will that do for me?'' asks Hook, still not getting where this goes.

''Don't you see it?! _Everyone_ loses their memories and more importantly, their magical abilities. Everyone, including _Rumplestiltskin_. He will be more vulnerable than ever. Think about how easy it will be for you to defeat him in this new realm?''

''To skin that crocodile.'' Hook nods. He likes the idea. '''But wait, you said that everyone will lose their memories about who they are? How would I be able to remember?''

''That will all be arranged by the Evil Queen's mother. The Queen of Hearts is someone that Regina wishes to dispose of. With a bit of effort from your side and some magical help from ours, you'll be able to so-called 'help' Regina assassinate her mother, while you'll actually end up helping the Queen of Hearts. She will help you remember _everything. _This opens the way for you to fulfill your greatest desire. To kill Rumplestiltskin.''

Hook is still suspicious. ''This sounds too good to be true. How do you know all of this? And what do you get out of it?''

''You're clearly not familiar with our profession are you?''

''Nothing personal, but I never felt the need to delve into the work description of _fairy's_, no,'' answers Hook sarcastically.

''Well, to save you the trouble, fairy's don't just spread magic dust. We're also here functioning as some kind of Angels of Destiny. It's not that we're powerful enough to actually create destinies, but we do direct people into the right direction when necessary. That's why we sent Baelfire here, it was his destiny. He coming to me for help was partly his own choice and partly guided by us. We knew that Rumplestiltskin would never dare to follow his son through the portal and that's why this was the perfect plan. We've also learned that there is a savior, someone who will break the curse. This person however must be stopped.''

''And why's that?''

''Because it's the destiny of everyone in the magical world to become oblivious and _stay _oblivious to who their truly are, otherwise nothing of this will work.''

''But that sounds as something _bad, _I thought fairies were all about doing _good?''_

''Fairies are good nor bad Captain. We're neutral and simply make sure that people follow the destinies they were given. We also don't always understand the specific reasons behind it.''

''What has Baelfire got to do with all of this?'' asks Hook.

''It's Baelfire's task to stop the savior. The prophecy says that the savior will be the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Baelfire needs to stop her, and kill her. That's the only way destiny can be retained.''

''But how will he do that?'' asks Hook to the Blue Fairy.

''When I gave Baelfire the magic bean that sent him here, I told him that that was the last one. That was a lie. I've another one. This is however, the last one. This bean has been cursed in a way that it will send the boy to this land without magic. Sending him now, before the curse has been enacted, means that he will remember everything. He and the savior will meet when the girl reaches adulthood. That is when he needs to kill her.''

''It all sounds wonderful _bug_, but how do you think to get Baelfire to cooperate?''

The Blue Fairy pretends not to have heard the insulting remark in her direction. ''That's up to you Captain. But the boy hateshis father right? Let the boy believe that there's an opportunity to harm Rumplestiltskin. Maybe telling him about how his mother died will do the rest…?''

* * *

''Land in sight!'' calls Hook to the Lost Boys. The captain is standing at the helm looking through his telescope.

Baelfire gets his stuff together in a knapsack and helps the others to moor the ship. It has been five years since he joined the Lost Boys and by now, he knows exactly what is expected of him.

When they moor they always stay on a safe distance, away from the harbor. Their reputation is not very… good. Let's put it this way: inhabitants of each of the towns they port at will not be cheering at the quay to welcome them with open arms.

The way of working bothered Baelfire in the very beginning, but over the years he got used to it. It's a way of surviving; they need to plunder cities and villages in order for them to stay alive. And it was just as Skunk described when they first met: the adventures they had until now were great! Battling other pirates, fighting major storms and just the thrill of the hunt unchains a rush Baelfire can't describe. Being together with the Lost Boys contributes to this feeling. Finally he belongs somewhere. Finally he has friends. Brothers. Family, he can trust for the full 100%. He would give his life for them and he knows they would do the same for him.

Baelfire is happy that they go ashore again. They've been sailing for weeks now without stopping. The penetrating odors of sweat and other filth that has filled the ship almost makes him vomit.

''What's the plan Captain?'' asks Rabbit to Hook. He's pulling a rope whereupon he ties it into a complicated ship knot.

Hook's answer is curt. ''You, Skunk, Foxy and Cubby will explore the town like you always do. We'll wait til sundown before we get into action. Baelfire stays here with me on the lookout.''

Bealfire looks up in surprise. ''But we always go together? Why is it different this time?''

''Don't ask questions, just do it,'' hisses Hook.

The tone in Hooks voice speaks volumes. Baelfire knows it's better now to just do as he's told and not ask any more questions.

The others look stunned as well. The Lost Boys always stick together, that's their strength. Why would Hook ask Baelfire to stay with him?

Skunk approaches Baelfire. ''Hey, is everything all right? What's that all about?''

''I've no idea,'' admits Baelfire in all honesty.

''Weird… Want a piece?'' says Skunk as he hands a piece of bread to his friend.

''Yeah, thanks.'' Baelfire accepts the bread and takes little bites. It tastes sticky and leathery. ''I think we need to get some new pieces of wood for the mast, don't you think?'' He says when he looks up.

''That won't be a problem, I only see forest over there… I hope there still are some farms or houses for food...'' worries Skunk.

''Well it's up to you to find that out,'' grins Baelfire.

''So strange that you can't come with us Bae.''

Baelfire doesn't get the time to reply.

''Ok boys, let's go!'' says Hook. ''I want you back here by midnight.''

Skunk and the other boys cast a last glance at Baelfire before they get into the sloop that will bring them to shore. They've knives and torches with them, ready for the expedition.

Baelfire follows the sloop until it's not more than a tiny dot in the distance.

''Now, I need to talk to you about something,'' says Hook as he comes standing next to Baelfire.

* * *

''Mom, everything's gonna be all right, right? It has to be,'' says Henry as he's lying in the guest bed of the Charmings.

Emma is sitting next to him on the other side of the bed. ''Of course,'' she answers. But a tremor in her voice betrays her uncertainty. She gets up and wants to walk out of the room. ''Shall I leave the light on in the hallway?''

Henry doesn't immediately answer. Then he asks: ''can you stay here… with me for a while?'' His voice is soft, almost a whisper.

''Yeah sure.'' She walks back to the bed and lies down on the other side of the bed.

The boy snuggles himself closely against his mother.

Carefully Emma puts her arms around her son. She's still unaccustomed to close contact, but somehow this feels familiar. Safe. She knows that the wall around her has started to crumble down. And Henry plays a huge role in that. She places a soft kiss on his temple and listens to the tranquil sounds of his breaths. She wishes she could freeze time right now. Being here and now with her son, her parents right downstairs, makes her feel whole. Like nothing in the world is strong enough to come in between. That's all that matters right now.

When Emma is sure that her son's asleep, she gently pulls her arms back and gets up. She leaves on the light in the hallway and walks downstairs.

Both of her parents are sitting on the couch. Snow's sleeping, and her head rests on Charming's shoulders. Her husband holds her gently.

''Hey,'' he whispers as he sees his daughter coming down the stairs. ''Did you get him to sleep?''

''Yes, surprisingly I did… somehow...'' She sighs heavily and plops down on the couch.

''Don't be so insecure about your parental skills. You're doing a great job.'' Snow woke up from her nap. ''Really,'' she adds as she sees the unbelieving eyes of her daughter.

An uncomfortable silence fills the air.

It's now or never. ''Did you know I was in jail?'' Emma breaks the silence. She braces herself for her parents' reaction.

But there is none. No upset faces, no shocked questions and no blaming eyes. Charming and Snow just wait, wait until their daughter is finally ready to share her story.

Emma takes a deep breath and says: ''it was two years after I met Neal…''

* * *

_Cultural references:_

_Captain Jack Sparrow: Fictional character of the movie series Pirates of the Caribbean_

_Angels of Destiny: Fictional characters of tv series Charmed. The immortal protectors and overseers of all Destinies who maintain the Grand Design, ensuring that no one alters it unnaturally. They are portrayed as ethereal, graceful magical beings of the highest rank. They are by nature, neutral as Destiny can alter in both good or evil designs**  
**_

**Thanks again for reading folks! Here you have another piece of the puzzle. And the bit of fluff at the end? Well that's just because I can't live without, can you?**

** Hope to see your feedback. I'm really trying to improve the storyline, so if you have suggestions, questions or complaints, please don't hesitate to leave a review. Thanks so much in advance!**_  
_


	11. From Fear to Eternity

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**From Fear to Eternity**

The next morning Emma wakes up with a major headache. Her son has curled himself in a fetal position and lays next to her. Emma immediately remembers the night before, when she finally told her parents an important piece of her life. Their reactions were unexpectedly… calm. However, when Emma told them about the fact that she got Henry when she was in jail, she saw tears welling up in the eyes of her mother. Emma decided from that point on to only look at her father when sharing her story, afraid for a breakdown. What happened then, after she told the whole story, is still causing stabbing pains in her chest as the sound of it repeats itself constantly in her head.

* * *

''I'm so sorry.'' That were the few words that Snow had used that had such an enormous impact on her daughter. Her tone was soft as a whisper and cut through the bone.

That was it. These words were enough to cause such a break in Emma's wall that tears had started to run down her face. She leaned over to her mother and had rested her chin on Snow's shoulders as the tears kept on coming.

Snow had curled her arms around her daughters' back and held her tightly.

Charming had laid a comforting hand on the curve of Snow's lower back.

Emma had pulled away and finally managed: ''Mary, I don't want you to feel guilty about any of this. _I've _made some bad choices in life. ''

''But if we were there for you, if we just could have raised you and…''

''No Mary, I don't want to hear this.'' Emma's watery eyes were trying to convince her mother. ''There was nothing else you could do, you had no choice.''

Snow held the blond once again tightly.

Charming had put his arms around his wife and his daughter.

* * *

That was last night. Now, a busy day was ahead of them as Emma was determined to confront Regina with the text on her apartment wall.

''Henry,'' she whispers as she strikes gently over his hair. ''We've to get up, you've to go to school.''

An unsatisfied groan wells up out of the boy's mouth while he's still asleep.

Emma sighs. ''Henry,'' she says a bit louder.

Slowly he opens his eyes.

Emma sees that he's disorientated.

''We're at your grandparents house, remember?'' she says friendly.

He nods. ''Do I really have to go to school today? Can't I come with you to find out who wrote that line on the wall?'' In daylight everything is less scary than in the dark and his sense of adventure comes right back.

Emma is glad that her son isn't traumatized by the event. She puts on an evil smile: ''No, you can't. You've to go to school.''

''Ahh mom…''

''No Henry, we've been through this, there are some things that you have to leave up to me.'' She gets up and takes Henry's school uniform from a chair in the bedroom. ''Catch!'' she says as she throws the uniform towards the bed.

The expression on Henry's face brightens a bit.

* * *

When Charming sees the words on the wall, he's shocked. Of course his daughter told him about it, but seeing it for real makes it even scarier.

Henry went to school with Snow this morning, but she had promised to take the afternoon off to come with them to confront Regina.

''I brought a bottle of luminol, so that we can see if it's real blood or not,'' says Emma. ''Impressive what kind of things are available in the sheriff's station.'' She sprays some of the chemical substance on the letters on the wall. ''Can you turn off the lights and close the curtains?'' she asks her father as she's finished.

''What should happen now?'' he asks as he has no idea what luminol does.

''If it's blood, it should light up blue.''

Charming closes the curtains and turns off the light switch just as the blond had asked him.

The wall lights up like a funfair attraction.

''Crap,'' is the encompassing noun that Emma uses to describe the situation. A shiver runs up her spine. ''This is such a huge amount of blood. I'm not sure if the person from who this blood is, is even still alive…''

Charming casts a worried glance at his daughter.

From her crime-scene-kit she takes a cotton swab and accompanying tubule, with which she takes a sample from the wall. I think I still have DNA from Mr Gold at the station, from last time he was in jail. I'll compare that with this sample.''

Charming frowns. ''Do you even know how to do that?''

''Hey, a don't underestimate me Prince. Watch me, I've some secret qualities you didn't know of.''

''I bet,'' grins Charming.

''I think it's better to go to the station right now and do the tests, as Mary still will be in school for some time.''

* * *

Once down at the sheriff's station, Emma immediately gets to work. From the stockroom she takes the necessary equipment and then she takes Mr Gold's DNA from a cooled vault. Using different chemical substances she makes the comparison.

Charming is frustrated that he can't do anything. Nervously, he taps with his fingertips on Emma's desk.

''Can you please stop that?'' asks Emma a bit irritated.

''Sorry.'' The last action Emma performs is putting some small tubes into a machine that looks like something he has seen once on Crime Scene Investigation.

''And now we have to wait half an hour before we get the results,'' she says.

''Shall I quickly go down to Granny's to get us some lunch?'' offers Charming, happy that there is something he can do.

''That would be great, can you take that chicken club sandwich for me?''

Within fifteen minutes, Charming is back with the order.

''How's Belle?'' asks Emma when she takes a bite from her sandwich.

''She's hanging in there. Red is doing an amazing job keeping her calm.''

''You didn't tell her about the blood did you?''

''Of course not, we can't tell her until we're sure that it's Rumple's blood. And even then I'm not sure if it's a good idea to share this information with her.''

''No me neither…'' says Emma gloomy.

Father and daughter eat their sandwiches in silence, constantly looking at the clock on the wall.

When the 30 minutes have elapsed, Emma walks towards her desk and stops the machine. She takes out the samples and uses a card with color codes to determine if there's a match.

Charming almost can't deal with the stress he feels.

After a few minutes, Emma's expression turns anxious. She overlays the result cards again and again, but that doesn't change the result: ''the blood isn't Mr Gold's,'' she manages.

''But from who else can it be?'' A slight bit of panic reflects in his tone.

Emma looks up. ''I've no idea. But there is only one person in Storybrooke who knows that answer. _Regina.''_

* * *

Emma rushes down the street on her way to the ex-mayor.

''Wait, Emma, can't we talk this through before we barge in her house?'' asks Snow as she's trying hard to keep up with her daughter.

''Snow is right Emma,'' says Charming. ''We need to make a plan first, we need to talk this trough.''

''What's there to talk about? Regina hurt, or maybe killed someone. She smeared our apartment wall full with blood. She scared Henry! She's got to pay.''

''How do you plan on doing that? She has her powers back here.''

''Well yeah, but so have I.''

''Yeah. You have something, but you don't even know what the hell to do with it. And now, you're going to take on the most powerful woman in town?'' asks Charming.

''Excuse me. Didn't Regina do the most terrible things to you? To your friends? Family? Aren't you happy you finally get the chance to get back at her?''

''Yes, we are Emma,'' says Snow, ''but I also know that going after her without a plan is a mistake.''

Emma suddenly stands still. Charming and Snow almost bump into her. ''So what do we do?''

''Even if the dwarves construct a cell to hold her, we need a way to contain her magic until then'', says David.

''Fairy dust!'' offers Snow. ''Leroy said they were processing a new batch of it.''

''Will that stop her power?'' Asks Emma.

''It has before. The problem is, she'll see us coming,'' says David.

His daughter suddenly looks determined. ''Leave that to me. Trust me – we're locking her up.''

* * *

Emma knocks on Regina's door, while her parents stand behind her.

Regina answers. ''Miss Swan?'' She is unpleasantly surprised by the visit of Emma and 'the two idiots.'

''Cut the crap Regina, who did you kill?''

''What?'' Question marks are clearly visible in Regina's eyes.

''I know it was you. Not very smart of you to leave a text like: 'he is mine' on the wall.

''I seriously have no idea what you're talking about?''

Emma pretends she didn't hear the last comment. ''Going so far to get your son back. I knew you were crazy, but this crazy…? You're sick. You're a sick woman Regina. What do you even think to achieve with this? Scaring us this much that Henry comes running back to you? Well, you're wrong. You'll never get to see him again, EVER. Do I make myself clear?''

''No, I will not let you poison Henry against me.''

''Funny thought, as you've yourself to blame for this.''

Suddenly, Regina's voice sounds desperate. ''I want to see him. He deserves to hear my side of the story! He's my son!''

Emma is furious. ''He's not, he's mine! And, after this, you're not getting anywhere near him! Do it!''

Mother Superior appears from behind a tree and fires a blast of blue magic at Regina.

However, she sees it coming in time and stops it. ''Did you really think that would work again?'' She casually tosses the magic orb on the ground near Charming and Snow. ''You… you will not keep my son from me.''

Regina magically throws Emma backwards down the walkway. Mary Margaret runs towards her daughter to help her up.

Regina continues: '' So much for fairy dust. Maybe some of your newfound magic can save you now.''

''I don't need it. I already won. There's no way Henry will swallow your lies now. You can pretend all you want, but we know how you are, and how you always will be,'' says Emma.

Defeated, Regina magically disappears in a puff of purple smoke.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review :)**


	12. Thank You for Not Morphing

**Great to read all your lovely reviews and see all the follows and favorites. Can't thank you enough. **

**So how 're you all handling the hiatus? It's a b#tch isn't? (excuse my French). Well luckily we survived one week, only two more to go... **

**In the meantime, have fun with the next chapter ;)**

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Thank You for Not Morphing**

It has been a week since Regina magically disappeared, and no serious progress has been made in the Rumplestiltskin's case, nor has the ex-mayor be found. There's also no trace of Neal since he checked out of the bed & breakfast. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, thinks Emma. Him staying away from her and Henry is great, wouldn't it be for the fact that he is the prime suspect in a disappearance case. ''Henry, you're going to be late for school!'' she says to her son who's still brushing his teeth.

''Comnng,'' he says with his mouth full of toothpaste. Quickly he rinses his mouth with water and drops the toothbrush on the side of the sink.

Emma is already waiting with his backpack down the stairs. ''Here you go,'' she says while she gives it to him. ''All ready?'' She walks towards the door.

''Mom please, when do you let me go to school by myself? I'm eleven now…''

It's the same sentence Emma hears for weeks and weeks now. ''You know what?'' she finally gives in, ''I'll bring you to the bus now, but this afternoon you'll be travelling back all by yourself. What about that?''

''Deal!'' he answers happily. He takes the backpack from his mother and walks outside while Emma locks the door.

''Hi Henry, Emma,'' says Archie who's walking Pongo while they pass by.

''Hey Archie, hey Pongo,'' answers Henry as he pets the dog.

''Hi Archie. Come on Henry, we really have to go,'' begs Emma. She sees the yellow school bus already coming up to their bus stop and they've to start running to be able to catch it. ''You're coming straight home after school, understand?'' She says with a stern tone in her voice while her son gets in. ''I'll be home as soon as I can.''

''Yes mom, I promise,'' sighs Henry. ''Bye!''

Emma waves to her son as he sits down. She notices that he is sitting next to Paige, Jefferson's daughter, and doesn't have any attention for his mother. Paige is showing him something, although Emma can't see from her position what it is. She's glad that her son is starting to make friends in school. He's always been a loner and didn't have a lot of friends of his own age. A proud smile appears on her face. As soon as the bus hits the corner, she turns around and walks towards the station.

Once arrived, she sees that her father is already sitting at her desk, looking through some paperwork. ''Morning,'' he says as he sees his daughter entering.

''Morning David, you're early?''

''Yeah, couldn't really sleep last night,'' he admits. ''Figured it would be best to just start early today.''

Emma notices the sad tone in his voice. ''And was there a specific reason why you couldn't sleep?'' she therefore asks.

''Snow and I had a… fight, last night.'' It's hard for him to share this with his daughter as he and his wife rarely had arguments, let alone serious fights.

Emma raises a brow. ''I thought fairytale couples didn't fight?'' she says in an attempt to break the ice.

''We normally don't,'' he answers in all seriousness. ''But last night was just tense to begin with. I guess it was my mistake as I brought it up. I started again about getting back to the Enchanted Forest.''

''Oh David…'' sighs Emma.

''No please hear me out Emma, I think with everything going on here, we can safely say that this also isn't the right place to live right? And I discussed it with Grumpy this week and we really think that if we find a way to get back, we can make it work. We just have to fight!''

''But don't you get it? The two of you fought your whole life, for everything. I've read the book, I've experienced part of it myself. Mary is tired of fighting, don't you see that?''

''I know, I know, she told me the exact same thing last night. But living here, isn't a life either. I want the best for her. The best for you and Henry.''

''And going back there is absolutely not the best thing to do for anyone,'' says Emma as she lays her hand over his. ''David, I really see what you mean, I do understand that you want to go back home, but is there a way that you can trust us in the fact that your home isn't really your home anymore?''

''I guess I've to make it up to her, don't I?'' he gets round the question.

''Yes, I think that would be best,'' answers the blond.

* * *

''So that wand that you have is really from the Enchanted Forest?'' asks Henry to Paige as they leave the school.

''Yes my dad has a lot of things from the other world in his house. Cool isn't?''

''Yeah,'' he answers as he's spellbound by the beauty of the glittering wand. He's almost too afraid to ask. ''Can I… touch it?''

''You can even hold it if you want,'' the girl says as she gives the object to her friend.

Henry takes it as if it's the most valuable thing in the world. Gently he lets his finger slide over the smooth surface. ''This is so cool! Where did your dad get it from?''

''A fairy gave it to him, as a 'thank you' gift for something he did for the fairy community.''

''What did he do for them?'''

''He saved a group of fairies in the ogre war. They were trapped and he let them free.''

''Wow, that's impressive. Can your dad, you know, use the wand to perform magic?'' Henry gets more excited by the minute.

Paige starts to laugh. ''No, a wand can only be used by a fairy, and by no-one else.''

''I see,'' Henry nods.

Both of the children get in the bus.

''If you want,'' says Paige, ''you can come to my house and I'll show you some more magical artifacts my dad has in his collection?''

''Oh, I really wish I could, but I promised my mom to come home right after school.''

''But don't you want to see it then? He really has a lot of things.''

''Of course I want to see it, but maybe some other time…''

''You know what you can do, you just come home with me and give a quick call to your mom telling her that you're having tea at my place? Do you really think she would mind?''

''I don't know. I guess not,'' answers Henry as he's rethinking his options. Or he goes home and has to make his homework, ór he goes with Paige and gets to see these amazing things from the Enchanted Forest. ''Okay, I'll come with you,'' he finally decides. ''I'll just give a quick call to my mom when we're at your house and I guess that's fine.''

''Cool!''

When they pass the bus stop near Emma and Henry's apartment, Henry looks to be sure that his mom isn't waiting for him. But she kept her word, there's no sign of her anywhere.

The bus drives further and further out of town. The rest of the children already made their way out at previous stops, and Paige and Henry stay in last.

''Okay, here we are,'' she says as they come up to the last bus stop. ''We've to walk for a bit, but I don't think you would mind?''

''No that's, fine,'' answers Henry.

They get out and Henry follows Paige over the bumpy forest road. After a few minutes, the incredible mansion of Jefferson appears in sight.

''You live here?!''cries Henry unbelievably. ''It's beautiful!'''

''Nice isn't? Okay, can you wait here while I go tell my father that I brought a friend. He's a bit of a loner and I never brought someone home. I think it's better if I prepare him.''

Henry agrees and sits down on one of the steps that leads to the enormous porch of the mansion.

* * *

''Ah, you're here, good.''

''Mother, why did you ask me to come all the way here?'' Regina says as she sees Cora coming inside Jefferson's house.

''Wait and see my dear, wait and see. Everything's going to be all right now.'' The woman walks back to the front door and back outside.

* * *

''Okay he's ready,'' says Paige to Henry as she comes back outside. ''Just follow me,'' she smiles.

Henry does what he's told and enters the mansion.

''Henry?!'' Regina cries out, totally overwhelmed.

''Mom?!'' gives Henry the same reaction.

The little girl who just stood next to him, has turned into a… woman? Henry really doesn't get what's going on. ''Mom what's happening? Where's Paige?'' his little voice vibrates a bit.

''Mother, what did you do?!''

''This is what you wanted right Regina? Your son back. Well here he is! Isn't that wonderful?''

''No mother, not this way. What is it that you did?'' she asks again.

''Oh, you know, I just impersonated one of Henry's friends and asked him to come with me. But I did it all for you Regina, so that you can be reunited with your son.'' Cora seems rather pleased with herself.

Henry runs up to his mother and holds her tight.

''Oh Henry…'' his mother is totally overwhelmed with the sudden embrace and the whole situation. ''I'm so, so sorry.''

''For what? Where were you the last days?'' Henry doesn't understand any of it.

'''Didn't your mom tell you?''

''Tell me what?''

''Never mind Henry, never mind. I'm so glad I can hold you again. I missed you so much.''

''I missed you too.''

A warm feeling takes a grip on Regina.

The two hold each other firmly.

Then, Regina let's go. ''Mother, we can't do this. We've to get him home.''

''This can be his home from now on, your home as well,'' smiles Cora.

''Mother, this is Jefferson's house. Where is he anyway?''

''He gets better acquainted with Hook at the moment.''

''What?! And where is his daughter?''

''After her father didn't come home last night, she's staying with her other family, the one that took care of her for the last 28 years.''

''Mother, no! You can't do this! This isn't the way! I'm taking Henry back to his mother.''

''O no, you won't,'' says Cora with an evil smile.

But Regina starts pushing Henry forward to the direction of the front door.

Suddenly, all the doors and windows of the house are locked with loud clicking sounds. ''Sweet girl, you really didn't think that I would let you go out now you finally have your son back? We can be happy here. As a family.''

Regina throws up her arms in an attempt to undo her mother's magic.

But Cora is much quicker and let her daughter fly up in the air. ''I really didn't think so.''

* * *

''Emma, we've got another missing person,'' says Charming as soon as he's off the phone.

''What?! Who?''

''Jefferson.''

''Wait, the Mad Hatter is missing? Paige's father?''

''That one, yes. I was just on the phone with the Johnson's, Paige's or well, Grace's parents. They told me that Jefferson wasn't home when Paige returned from school yesterday, so she first decided to wait for her father. But after a few hours he still wasn't back and that's when Paige went to the Johnson's.''

''But I saw her in the school bus this morning with Henry, and everything seemed fine? They were just chatting like normal, nothing seemed off.''

''Well according to Mrs Johnson, Paige stayed home today, as she was too panicked to go to school.''

''No, seriously David. The girl was in the school bus this morning.''

''Well let's ask Snow and Henry when we get home. I first want to take a look at Jefferson's house. See if there is any evidence. Why don't you go home an rest for a while? You look exhausted Emma.''

For over the last week, the blond was working almost around the clock to find Rumplestiltskin and Regina. ''No David, I can't let you do it all by yourself…''Doubt is clearly reflected in her voice.

''Yes you can, I'll be fine. Just go home to your kid while I handle this.''

''Thanks,'' sighs Emma. ''Keep me in the loop okay?''

''Of course,'' he replies. ''Good night Emma.''

''Good night David.''

''Henry I'm home!'' calls Emma as she enters the apartment.

Dead silence follows.

''Hey, Henry!'' she tries again. As there is again no response, she walks around the house, opens all the doors and looks in every space she can think of. ''Henry come on, this is NOT funny!'' Her breathing accelerates.

The sudden ringtone of her phone startles her so much that a small shockwave runs through her body. ''Henry?!'' she almost yells out when picking up.

''Emma, it's David. Something weird is going on.''

''David, Henry's gone!''

''What?!''

''Henry is gone David. He's not in the apartment!'' Her heartbeat is three times as fast as normal and she is paralyzed with fear.

''Stay there Emma, I'll be right over. Don't panic.'' He hangs up.

''Don't panic, don't panic? I'm freaking out here!'' she thinks in herself.

She walks around the apartment one more time. Obviously there's nothing she can find.

There's a soft knock on the front door which startles her all over again. She runs to the living room and almost trips over one of Henry's robot toys. ''Shit!'' she yells out as a shooting pain runs through the toe she just hit. She grabs her foot, massaging the toe, and limps the rest of the way to the front door. As she answers it she can't believe what she sees.

Neal is laying in the hallway, blood dripping from his abdomen on the floor. Drops of blood have formed a path all the way to the building's staircase, and the man is groaning in pain.

''Neal?! What the hell?!'' Emma quickly sits down beside him and tries to stop the bleeding by putting a significant amount of pressure on the wound. ''What happened?!'' With her other hand she grabs her phone from her jeans pocket and dials the alarm number.

''911. What's your emergency?'' She hears at the other end of the line.

''Ccora.. Hook…'' mumbles Neal.

''What's that?'' she says as she's covering the telephone's mouthpiece with her hand.

''Cora…Hook…'' he manages again.

* * *

**Okay I even didn't see all of this coming. Neal is back guys, good thing? Stay tuned. Thanks! xoxo**


	13. Secrets and Guys

**Hi guys, thanks so much for hanging in there! ;) Your feedback, follow's and favorites keep me motivated to continue, I swear! :D **

**Right, there we go again! xD**

******************DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**Secrets and Guys**

''Emma!'' calls Snow as she and Charming enter the hospital. ''What happened?'' She runs up to her daughter, who is obviously pretty shaken up.

''Cora… Hook…, they've Henry.'' Emma's eyes spit fire. ''And it wouldn't surprise me if Regina has something to do with it too. If they hurt him one bit, I'll kill them. ALL of them. I swear!''

''Emma, do you know where they are? Could Neal tell you something?'' asks Charming, who has been kept up-to-date by his daughter until the moment he picked up his wife to go to the hospital.

''No, when they brought him in, Dr Wale prepped him for surgery right away, and they're still operating on him.''

''The blood on the wall, is it Neal's?'' asks Snow.

''That's my best bet,'' answers her daughter. ''I still don't really get what's going on, but I think Cora and Regina teamed up in order to get Henry back. In their own twisted way...'' She's constantly looking at her watch, as the minutes tick away. Every time a nurse or doctor walks by, she looks up startled, hoping for some news on Neal.

''Emma don't you want to sit down?''

'''Mary, I'm too stressed to sit down,'' she snaps, looking at her watch again. ''They're already in there for more than an hour! Why is it taking so long?''

At that moment, Dr Whale is walking into the hallway. ''Emma, Charming, Snow, can we sit down somewhere?''

''Just tell us already! How's Neal?'' she snaps at the doctor.

''There were some complications…'' the doctor begins. ''His liver was severely damaged and we were afraid that he needed a transplant. Two of his ribs are cracked as well, however that can heal easily.''

''But what about his liver?'' asks Emma, almost exploding.

''We managed to save it, but barely. We've to wait and see how he gets through the night. The next twelve hours are critical.''

''Can I talk to him?'' asks Emma. Charming and Snow protectively stand behind their daughter, the prince putting his hand on her shoulder. Emma doesn't even notice it.

''Normally I wouldn't let anyone in the room with someone who is in such a critical condition, but looking at the circumstances I allow you in. However it can take a while before Mr Cassady wakes up.''

''I just need to know where my son is. That's all that matters.''

''Follow me,'' Dr Whale beckons. When they've arrived at the hospital room where Neal is in, he turns around and faces Charming and Snow. ''I'm sorry guys, I can only allow Emma to get in.''

''We understand,'' nods Charming. He turns to Emma. ''We'll be right here, waiting outside, we're not going anywhere.''

''Thanks,'' whispers Emma, and she walks into the room, taking a deep breath. There he is, her ex-boyfriend, lying in an hospital bed. His eyes are closed. Lying there he looks so innocent, so fragile. Still he is the man who broke her heart. She shouldn't forget that. Slowly she walks up to his bed, almost afraid to wake him. The man is connected to all kinds of tubes and machines which make beeping sounds. Emma sees a heart monitor as well, displaying the steady heart waves of Neal. She takes a seat on a chair that is situated next to the bed and waits. Waits until he wakes up.

* * *

In the meantime, Charming and Snow are sitting in the waiting area.

Snow is anxiously tapping with her fingertips on her legs.

In an immediate respond, Charming lays his hand on top of hers, in an attempt to ease her.

''What if he doesn't wake up? What if we're never able to find Henry?''

''We will Snow, we have to keep faith.'' The prince tries to stay as calm as possible for his wife's sake, but inside he feels torn. ''Can I get you something from the coffee machine?''

''A tea please,'' she replies.

He pats her hand one more time, and gets up to walk to the coffee machine. A rack with tea bags is located next to it. He decides to go for a chamomile tea for his wife and a cocoa for himself.

The chamomile tea has the desired effect and Snow's nerves calm down considerably. She lays her head on Charmin's shoulders and closes her eyes.

* * *

Two hours have passed since they brought Neal to the hospital room, and nothing has happened. Emma's eyes are fixed on the man in the bed, but tiredness has overwhelmed her. Her eyelids become heavier and heavier with the minute. Finally, they fall close, but she quickly opens them again. This happens four more times. The fifth time her consciousness has given in to the fatigue and she dozes in.

She has no idea how much time has passed as she wakes up again. She opens her eyes and looks right into the dark green pupils of Neal.

''Hey sleepyhead,'' he whispers hoarsely.

Emma sits right up again. ''Neal, how do you feel?''

''Like I've been hit by a train fully loaded with cargo,'' he replies, trying to lighten the air. A watery smile appears on his face.

''Neal, that's not funny! What did they do to you?'' Emma notices the worried tone of her own voice and loathes herself for it.

''Don't get mad at me. Please, before you freak out, let me explain the whole story.'' He coughs loudly.

''Are you alright?''

''Yeah, yeah, fine.''

Emma clearly understands the value of the information Neal's going to give her, and although she already expects that she's not going to like it, she realizes she needs to listen carefully. ''Go on.''

''It all started many years ago, when I lived in the Enchanted Forest as a young boy, together with my father.'' He doesn't mention the name of his father on purpose. However, he knows that what he's going to tell her, will automatically give away the identity of his dad.

''NO! You're NOT from there, that's impossible!'' cries Emma. Her face is in complete terror.

''Please, let me continue,'' he begs.

Emma breaths quickly, but allows him to go on.

* * *

_Eleven years ago, Portland, Oregon._

Half asleep, he hears a squeaky sound, clearly someone who's trying to open the car lock. He keeps quiet and stays still on the backseat of the yellow bug.

The front door opens.

Neal looks in between the two front seats, but only sees a white-with red blocked skirt, and a black leather jacket. ''Impressive. But really, you could've just asked me for the keys.'' He gets up and stares into the shocked face of a beautiful blond, young woman. She wears glasses, but underneath he sees the most impressive eyes he's ever seen. She's beautiful. He grins and puts a fist underneath his chin, looking at her. ''Just drive, it's fine,'' he says lightly.

Emma's eyes are back on the road again. ''I just stole your car. Your life could be in danger.''

''Neal Cassady.''

''Yeah, I'm not telling you my name.''

Feisty, he likes that. ''No, I don't need it to have you arrested when the robbery's in progress.''

''Emma… Swan.''

Neal feels like he's getting a heart attack. Emma Swan? _The _Emma Swan? The woman he needs to kill? He remembers Hook's words, like it was yesterday.

''_Killing her is your only chance to be able to let your father pay for what he's done to you.''_

No, he can't kill this girl. The view of her makes him feel all warm inside. He decides to just go with it. ''Good name.''

''So, do you live in here, or are you just waiting for the car to be stolen?''

''Why don't I tell you over drinks?''

''Excuse me?'' Emma turns around to look at the man who just had asked her a very blunt question, and runs a stop sign.

''Hey! Eyes on the road.''

''I'm not having drinks with you. You might be a pervert.''

''I might be a pervert, but you're definitely a car thief.''

''I said I was sorry,'' says Emma.

''You didn't actually.'' A smirk appears again on his face. He can't help it.

They both suddenly here a police siren.

''Damn it,'' growls Emma.

''That's why I said, eyes on the road…''

Emma pulls over, opens her window and puts on her most innocent smile. ''Hi.''

''License and registration,'' demands the police officer.

Neal realizes he has to step in. He leans over so that his face is next to Emma's. ''Terribly sorry officer, but this is actually my car. I'm… trying to… teach my girlfriend how to drive stick.''

''She got a lot to learn,'' comments the officer sarcastically.

''I know… but you know, _women.'' _Neal manages a man-to-man expression.

The police officer luckily gives in. ''Alright, I hear you. It's a warning… this time.'' He walks off.

Neal gets in the front seat.

''What are you, some sort of a misogynist?''

''You're welcome. Oh, go. We got lucky.''

Emma realizes the hidden meaning in the sentence Neal used. ''We? This isn't your car either, is it? I stole a stolen car?!''

Neal feels he's gaining her trust. And that's all he needs. Gaining the girl's trust, hang out with her, and then… _kill her. _

'' _Killing her is your only chance to be able to let your father pay for what he's done to you.''_

Hook's words repeat over and over in his head. He knows that if he kills Emma, the curse never will be broken and that's the start of his father's suffering. No magic. No power. Rumlestiltskin always calculated his plans carefully, paying the greatest attention to detail, but this counter strike is too unexpected, even for The Dark One himself. It all sounded perfect. In theory. But now he has met the girl he's meant to kill, doubts arise. 'Let's see where faith take us,' he ponders. He then turns his head to Emma and takes a deep breath. ''Now, how about a drink?''

* * *

**Okay, is that confusing or what? He did like her... at least in the beginning... What happened you think?**

**Please leave a review. I really appreciate your feedback!**


	14. All Hell Breaks Loose

**Sorry guys it took me so long to update, but I wrote an one-shot in between and got a bit of a writer's block. But thanks so much for bearing with me :))**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

**All Hell Breaks Loose**

''No, this is too much, I can't do this.'' Emma's heart beats in overdrive and she breaths so fast, that she's almost hyperventilating. ''I can't do this,'' she repeats, and runs out of the hospital room, leaving Neal in uncertainty.

Emma rushes past her parents in the direction of the exit.

''Emma, wait!'' cries Charming as his daughter runs by with the speed of light.

Snow is startled awake by the loud voice of her husband. Confused she looks around. ''What's wrong?'' In the corner of her eye she spots Emma's red jacket in the distance.

''Snow, come on,'' requests Charming as he takes her hand, and both of them follow their daughter.

''Emma!'' cries Snow.

''Emma, please wait!''

But their daughter already got in her yellow bug and pulls up as they get outside.

''Emma!'' cries Snow a last time.

But the blonde drives off the parking lot like a maniac.

''What did he do to her?'' asks Charming, with a deep hatred tone underlying in his voice. Who dares to touch his daughter with even a fingertip, has to deal with him.

Snow knows her husband and knows how protective he is. ''Let's go talk to Neal. But please stay calm Charming…'' She places her hand on his shoulder, trying to slow him down.

He rushes back inside and bursts into the hospital room where Neal is, closely followed by the brunette.

The man in the bed is asleep, still weakened from the operation.

''NEAL! Wake up!'' hisses the prince.

He opens his eyes.

''And now you're going to explain to me what you did to her. And don't you dare to miss out on any details. I want to hear everything, everything you hear me?''

Neal tries to explain everything as good as possible.

In the middle of his story, Snow has to sit down, too perplexed from everything she learns.

''I know you're probably hating me now, and you fully have the right to hate me. But you have to believe me as I tell you that I truly love your daughter. I fell in love with her the first moment I met her, in that yellow bug of hers. That feeling never stopped. I could never kill her. Never.''

The emphasis on that last word, is enough for Snow to believe him and forgive him more or less.

Charming on the other hand, is not as forgiving as his wife. ''You loved her, but you left her. She was pregnant for God's sake!''

''I didn't know that! I swear. She probably found out while she was in jail. I really hoped for a chance to visit her, but there was just no way that I could cross the borders back to the States again while in Canada.''

Snow hasn't said a single word. ''She's going to Hook and Cora,'' she finally whispers. ''Emma is going to Hook's ship to find out where Henry is.'' It suddenly all make sense to her. When she sees her husband's questioning gaze, she explains. ''They're here with Hook's ship. That must be the place where they're keeping Henry. She's going to get her son back!''

Charming realizes the serious risks that their daughter is facing when going down there. ''We've to find her.''

* * *

Neal lied to her. He lied to her for over two years. Their meeting wasn't a mere coincidence, no it was planned to the smallest detail. By a fairy, and by a captain. She was used. Tears run over Emma's face. Suppose that Neal really loves her and that his intentions of being here are good, don't change the fact that he used her to get revenge on his father. _Rumplestiltskin. _Connecting all the dots make her sick to the stomach. She has to pull over and open a window. She gags and needs to take a minute before she has herself under control again. 'Pull yourself together, there's no time for a breakdown' she demands herself. She closes the car window and drives further into the night. Neal told her that Hook and Cora arrived in Storybrooke with Hook's ship, but that they did something to it, to make it invisible for the outside world. 'Let's go find this ship of his.'

When she arrives at the dock, it indeed seems completely abandoned. She parks her car near the nearest quay and quietly enters it. She grabs a handful of sand and throws it in the seemingly emptiness. Nothing happens. She tries it again at another part. This time her effort's rewarded. A staircase appears. Carefully she steps on the first step, than the second, and up to the highest one. After that, it's like she's sucked through an invisible wall, enabling her to see that she has entered the ship. She tries to walk as still as possible, to not to alarm any of the persons on board.

''Emma!''

Her name whispered by someone makes her fly around, in order to face whoever is standing there. The man who steps out of the shadows is the last person in the world she would've expected to see here. ''Jefferson? What the hell are you doing here?'' she whispers in bewilderment.

''No time for questions, quick, run, it's not safe here!'' He grabs her arm and tries to push her back down the stairs.

''No, I've to find my son! He's here somewhere.'' She struggles to escape from the firm grip of Jefferson.

Another voice enters the stage, and both Jefferson and Emma freeze if on command.

''Emma, what a pleasant surprise. I started to wonder when you would show up. I kinda missed you. It has been a while right?''

''Well not long enough,'' hisses Emma. ''Where's Henry?''

''Who're you referring to dear?''

''Cut the crap, just tell me where my son is.''

Hook looks around, as if he's searching for the boy. ''Well I don't see him, so I guess he's not here.'' He smiles, satisfied with himself. _But… _I do know that there's a house in the woods -looks kinda like yours Jefferson now I come to think about it – anyway, Cora and Regina're there at the moment. ''You can try over there beauty?'' Hook isn't at least interested in Emma's son, as his interests are with that imp. It are his and Cora's interests that're starting to clash. Cora goes ahead and assumes that the captain will take care of everything she demands. Like captivate the Mad Hatter long enough for her to win back her daughter's faith. Well that obeying behavior is over. The only reason he travelled to Storybrooke was to get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin, not to clean up that old witch's mess.

''Yeah, you really think I would fall for that? How stupid you think I am?'' cries Emma.

''No I'm deadly serious.''

''Emma! Are you okay?'' Snow and Charming are coming up the stairs to the ship. The brunette wears her bow and arrows, and rushes up to her daughter. They both look up in surprise as they see who's standing with Hook and Emma on the ship.

It touches Emma that her parents came to protect her, but on the other hand it annoys her as well. She's an adult, she doesn't need the armed protection of her parents. Right? ''I'm fine, this idiot here however is stalling for whatever reason.'' Her attention turns back to Hook. ''Just let me through, I need to get my son.'' She tries to push her way through, but Hook is blocking the entrance to the lower deck. ''Let. Me. Through,'' she demands.

''That's not a possibility, and you've to believe me as I say that your son is not here. He's at that house in the woods.''

That's the point where Snow draws her bow and aims the arrow on Hook. ''Let my daughter go through,'' she hisses.

The captain quickly puts his hook around Emma's neck and holds her firmly. ''I'm afraid I can't,'' he says. ''I will let her go if you all promise to get away from this ship and to leave me alone.''

''You gotta be kidding me…'' says Emma sarcastically. She isn't afraid at all, only mad. ''My son is down here and I'm going to get him out of here, whether you like it or not.''

''He's not here as I told you before. So just leave, and take your parents and that lunatic of a Hatter with you.''

Emma realizes that it's pointless to negotiate with the captain. She looks him straight in the eyes and tries her 'superpower' on him.

Hook sees this action as a sign of affection. ''You missed me too, didn't you?'' he whispers in her ear.

''No actually, I was checking if you're speaking the truth,'' Emma states matter of fact. ''And I can't find a sign of you lying, however my 'superpower' hasn't been what it was lately.''

Hook's disappointed look would be hilarious, if the circumstances weren't so serious.

''Okay fine, we go. But if he's not in that house, I'll be back and I'll definitely kill you.'' Emma produces an impending tone in her voice, making clear that she's not joking about the assassination part.

The Charmings and Jefferson get off the ship as soon as Hook released his grip on Emma.

''Emma I think he speaks the truth,'' says Jefferson. ''Someone, or something, sedated me when I was in my house and the next thing I knew I woke up here on that ship. I've no idea what happened in the meantime, nor do I know who sedated me. But when I woke up, that captain stood next to me and said I had to run… I did, and that's when I saw you on the upper deck,'' he explains to Emma.

''Let's go to your house than, see what the hell is going on.''

* * *

''Henry, come on. Quick, we've to go,'' whispers Regina as soon as she made sure her mother is asleep.

The boy is sleeping in Paige's bed and opens his eyes. He jumps out of bed the next second, and takes his mothers' hand. Finally they can get away from this place! ''Are you sure your mother's not awake?'' he whispers back.

''I'm sure, come on.'' She puts on Henry's jacket and takes him towards the front door. They both are walking as quietly as possible. Regina looks around one more time to make sure that they're not being followed by her mother. She widens her arms and a clicking sound tells her that the front door has magically been unlocked.

Once they're outside they run like they're chased by the devil himself.

As they're almost outside of the forest Henry hears his name called out.

''HENRY! HENRY!'' Emma jumps out of her car as soon as she spots the two 'fugitives.'

''Emma?! EMMA!'' Henry runs into his mother's arms. The protective embrace his mother has him in, tells him that he's safe. That he doesn't have to be afraid anymore. They both start to cry.

When Emma pulls back and dries her tears, she walks up to Regina with big, furious steps. ''What did you do to my son?!'' she inquires.

''Mom, no it wasn't like that!'' Henry pulls Emma's arm to stop her. ''It wasn't Regina who did this, it was Cora. Regina saved me. Cora mislead me in making me think that she was Paige, and I believed her. So I went with her to Jefferson's house instead of going straight home like you told me to. I'm so sorry!'' He suddenly looks down to his shoes, like this is all his fault.

''Henry, there was no way you could've known this.'' Emma's eyes flash from Henry to Regina and back to her son. ''Is this true? Wasn't it Regina who set up the whole plan?'' she asks her son.

''No, Regina doesn't have anything to do with this. She tried to stop Cora.''

''Emma, I'm really sorry about everything. I wanted to get him out of there sooner, but my mother is just too powerful. I was set up too, really didn't know what was going on.''

The blonde believes her. In combination with what Neal told her earlier, it all started to make sense. Cora was trying to get Regina back, in a very, very sick way. ''I believe you,'' she sighs.

In the meantime, Jefferson went to the Johnson's, to pick up his daughter and stay there until further notice from the Charmings. Charming and Snow followed Emma in the direction of Jefferson's house and were standing behind her now.

''Gramps, grams, I'm so relieved to see you again,'' cries Henry and he hugs both of his grandparents firmly.

Tears well up in Snow's eyes. ''We're so glad to have you back Henry .''

''Kiddo, don't frighten us like this every again, do you hear me? '' says Charming on a convincing, but relieved tone.

''I won't.''

''Okay guys, we've to get back home. We've to make a plan to stop Cora, before she notices the two of you're gone,'' states Emma business-like. ''You're coming with us?'' she asks Regina.

The former mayor doesn't know what to say. First, the blonde and her parents were trying to kill her, blaming her for something she didn't do and now this. But she guesses she doesn't have much of a choice. ''Thank you for believing me,'' she manages. She gets in Emma's yellow bug as the blonde holds the passenger door open for her.

* * *

**Okay, I'm a bit afraid that this chapter might be a bit too scary? What do you think? I really hope that I made up for it with the reunion between Henry and his family? Please leave your review. What would you like to see next? :)) Many thanks!**

**Have loads of fun tonight with the new OUAT ep, ''Tiny.'' I'll stay up until 2am to watch it, for sure :)**


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